Glasgow Artists’ Moving Image Studios SCIO (GAMIS) have been putting on screenings in pop up venues for the past few years. Now they have found an indoor space they will be using for the film festival part of this year’s Govanhill International Festival and Carnival.

GAMIS are thrilled to announce that, after 4-years popping up in local parks, abandoned buildings and on the streets of Govanhill, we have found an indoor home for Govanhill International Festival and Carnival (GIFC), 2022 and hopefully into the future

The New Phoenix Cinema at 138 Niddrie Road will be our home for GIFC 2022 as we work on making Niddrie Road a permanent hub from which we can fulfil our charitable aims and objectives of:

1. The advancement of the arts through:

1.1. the provision of affordable studio space, presentation and training opportunities, with a specific focus on artists’ moving image, time-based and digital practices.

1.2. the promotion of artists’ practices in Glasgow through programming, commissioning and research.

2. The advancement of education through:

2.1. The development of an educational programme targeted at local residents, Scottish and international arts audiences and artists.

What does this mean in practice?

Each year since 2020, GAMIS have worked with local partner organisations and communities of interest to programme films significant to Govanhill and its residents. We believe that through film, we can break down barriers to understanding cultures other than our own, revealing ourselves to each other through this medium.

Community and development partners past and present include: Rumpus Room; Govanhill Baths; Romano Lav; Community Renewal; Glasgow Film Theatre; Unity Sisters; Glasgow Seed Library; Glasgow Zine Library; Screen Scotland; Radio Buena Vida; Greater Govanhill Magazine; Creative Scotland; The Biennale of Sydney; Film Hub Scotland; LUX Scotland; Museums and Galleries Scotland; Gallery of Modern Art; Queer Classics Film Festival; The Hidden Noise; The Fore.

In the long-term, our ambition is to open artists’ studios in what were the showrooms of the Phoenix, a former factory building, then furniture warehouse, with stunning natural light coming from the north-facing windows that look into the train tracks to the right of the building. As our organisation grows, we will work towards furnishing the larger internal warehouse space with cafe provision, a permanent cinema / mixed-use space and perhaps even a darkroom and sound booth.

The model of artists’ studios supporting a public-facing gallery / exhibition space is well established within Glasgow and internationally but has never been done with artists’ moving image. We believe that there is exciting potential in bringing together artists who work in time-based practices, under one roof, to form a community of practitioners who are interested in similar working methods to share resources, equipment and expertise.

GOVANHILL FILM FESTIVAL AS PART OF GIFC 2022

4TH - 14TH AUGUST

Since its humble beginning in 2020, GAMIS have programmed a community-led film festival within the broader Govanhill International Festival and Carnival. Always an eclectic mix of artists’ moving image, documentary, classics, features and shorts, we partner with local organisations, charities and communities of interest to represent the vibrant, diverse neighbourhood of Govanhill.

This year the film festival starts on the 4th at the New Phoenix Cinema with two screenings per-day at 6pm and 8pm on the 4th - 7th, and at 6pm daily on the 11th and 12th, then we’re back at our ‘street cinema’, the Bat. Lab., from the 11th-14th, where screenings start at sunset, 9pm.

The full programme can be found here.

Ticketed on a sliding scale from £0 - £12.