This summer we’re taking part in the Glasgow 2026 Festival, a city-wide celebration of culture taking place in the lead-up and during the Commonwealth Games.
Join us for family-friendly screenings of animations from countries participating in the Commonwealth Games, and take part in hands-on workshops in which children can make their own short animations!
From an unlikely insect friendship in New Zealand to a Nigerian girl who treasures her Grandmother’s recipe book, this funny, touching and unique selection of films from all over the globe celebrates companionship and community.
All screenings are free of charge with no booking required. Suitable for all ages, but particularly for under 10s.
The animations produced in the workshops will be premiered at a special screening in Glasgow Film Theatre’s Cinema 1 on Saturday 1 August.
Find your nearest event:
Kinning Park Complex
43 Cornwall Street, G41 1BA
Monday 6 July
10.15-11.45 Screening
13.00-15.00 Workshop
Platform
1000 Westerhouse Road, G34 9JW
Thursday 9 July
11.00-12.15 Screening
Friday 10 July
11.00-13.00 Workshop
Milton Food Hub and Community Garden
St. Andrews Church, Liddesdale Square, G22 7BT
Tuesday 14 July
13.30-15.00 Screening
Wednesday 15 July
13.00-15.00 Workshop
Castlemilk Arts Hub
33 Dougrie Drive, G45 9AD
Friday 17 July
10.45-12.15 Screening
13.00-15.00 Workshop
Glasgow Film Theatre
12 Rose Street, G3 6RB
Saturday 1 August
11.15-13.00 Screening + premiere of the results of the workshops
Part of GFT’s Take Two programme. Children aged 14 and under attending a Take 2 screening receive a free ticket for themselves and one free ticket for their accompanying adult. Extra adult tickets cost £6.90 each. Free tickets are only issued from the GFT Box Office on the day of the screening.
Films in the programme
Bench (Rich Webber, UK, 2020)
A short film about sharing…
Bird Drone (Radheya Jang Jegatheva, Australia, 2023)
A heartfelt story of unrequited love explored through a lonely seagull struggling to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with a limited battery life.
Dragon Recipes (Maria Pavlou, Cyprus, 2019)
A young apprentice witch creates a dragon, using an old spell… but her magic mistakes don’t get her the fire-breathing type she has in mind…
Grounded (Chris Callus, New Zealand, 2025)
As dawn breaks, a loveliness of ladybirds takes to the sky… all except Bug. Left behind and unable to fly, Bug and a sympathetic spider wrestle against an invisible weight that feels heavier than gravity alone.
Hadu (Damilola Solesi, Nigeria, 2024)
An eager young girl embarks on a culinary journey to recreate her grandma’s special recipe.
The Hip Hops (Sandra Vivas, Dominica, 2024)
A handmade story of disability and inclusion from the point of view of a child, based on the filmmaker’s own life.
Idodo (Ursula Ulmi, Papua New Guinea, 2022)
Based on an indigenous folk tale from the Ziag Zagaz Clan, Idodo celebrates the diverse and unique cultural heritage of Papua New Guinea, retelling the story of how reef fish got their beautiful colours.
Little Lake (Lia Fabre-Dimsdale, Canada, 2024)
An adventurous young lily pad encounters death for the first time when they find a dead fish at the bottom of the pond.
Miro Wine (Bree Greally, Lily Martin-Babin, New Zealand, 2020)
A story about two New Zealand native birds. The grumpy kererū is annoyed by the affectionate pīwakawaka. Slowly a bond is formed and the kererū ends up missing the pīwakawaka when it is gone.
Paperplanes (Arvind Singh Jeena, India, 2022)
In a primary school classroom, a fun filled, hyper mischievous, noisy bunch of 4th graders are caught off-guard as the teacher walks in unannounced; followed by a surprise test of creativity and character. Will all of them complete it in time?
Talisman The Goat (Laura Facey, Adrian Lopez, Jamaica, 2025)
This is the story of Talisman, a very unusual goat, who leaves his home on Goat Island to go in search of fresh water. He traverses extraordinary landscapes to finally arrive at Fresh Water Cave.
The Wonderful Story of Aisha, Ali and Flipflopi the Multicoloured Dhow Boat (Kwame Nyong’o, Kenya, 2020)
Two young siblings are unhappy about all the plastic pollution in their otherwise idyllic ocean-side village and decide to do something about it: collect all the plastic and create a big dhow sailing boat!
