There is no word on her replacement as of now.
The ethos of cinema is in the DNA of the cinema and the festival.
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And many would agree.
Viggo Mortensen at the 2024 Glasgow Film Festival
This years program also includes 66 UK premieres and 12 Scottish premieres from 38 countries.
I consider ourselves a broad church of a festival, says Gardner.
Theres something for everyone.
We thought if we build it, they will come and they actually did come, she says.
By 2013, that number grew to more than 40,000 attendees.
The aim was always to make the festival small and friendly, offering great cinema to locals.
Im a great believer in not growing for growths sake, she says.
We have a go at remove barriers.
Theres no such thing as a perfect organization, but we try.
Weve always prided ourselves as a great festival to discover emerging talent, says Gardner.
It was really important that we had an award that we could offer up to new talent.
Many guests end up returning to help in different capacities at the event.
Wheatley, for example, is returning this year to help as a mentor.
We do so much on the ground now in terms of mentorship schemes, says Gardner.
We initiate the BFI Challenge Fund for Funny Features, a talent lab which takes place across six months.
We are also running an animation program called Animatic.
This is really unique in a film festival setting and we think it indicates that were genuinely moving forward.
The organizations overarching values have always been transparency, authenticity and sustainability, she says.
