While coronavirus has put paid to an actual Glasgow Youth Film Festival (GYFF) happening in 2020, the clever clogs over at Glasgow Film have come up with a mini-edition of the event instead. Taking place between Friday the 18th and Sunday the 20th September, GYFF Presents will feature four films, including two new titles and two classics from yesteryear.

The programme was curated by Glasgow Film’s Youth Board, made up young cinema aficionados between the ages of 15 and 25. Here is a rundown of what to expect:

  • The festival will kick off at 8pm on Friday 18th with a special screening of new release Rocks, followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with some of the cast. The film itself focuses on a teenage girl living in London whose life is upended after she suddenly becomes the sole carer for her little brother and must strive to avoid the authorities splitting them up.
  • That tasty morsel is immediately followed by a late-night screening of cult classic Donnie Darko at 11pm on Friday 18th. In it, Jake Gyllenhaal perfects his gloomiest pout as a high school social outcast who is beset by terrifying visions that he can’t explain. The film catapulted Monsieur Gyllenhaal to super stardom and won a legion of dedicated fans in the process.
  • Saturday night features a preview of upcoming release Miss Juneteenth at 8.20pm on the 19th. Former pageant beauty queen Turquoise Jones is struggling against the adversity that life has thrown at her to ensure her own rebellious daughter Kai follows in her footsteps by also winning the Miss Juneteenth crown – but Kai has very different ideas.
  • The mini-festival takes its final bow with everyone’s favourite time travel romp from the 80s, Back to the Future. Screening at 4.15pm on the 20th, this stone-cold classic sees Marty McFly team up with the maverick scientist Doc Brown to travel back in time and meddle in the courtship unfolding between his dear old ma and pa.

2020 would have been the year in which the 12th annual GYFF took place, but given the circumstances, GYFF Presents is a very appetising replacement. Tickets can be gobbled up from the Glasgow Film website, which also offers more information on other filmic fare on offer at the Glasgow Film Theatre post lockdown.