Sir Alex Ferguson movie to premiere at Glasgow Film Festival

A film about Sir Alex Ferguson directed by his son is among the works premiering at the Glasgow Film Festival this year.

The former football manager and his son Jason Ferguson will also take part in a question and answer session for the festival, which is taking place virtually this year due to lockdown restrictions.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, which was filmed while he was recovering from a brain haemorrhage and aware that his memory might desert him, sees Sir Alex recount the most important stories of his life, both in and out of football, to his son.

The festival will premiere the film on March 6, featuring previously unseen archive footage, with the question and answer session taking place on the same day.

Festival organisers have also announced two other premieres, including the first UK screening of Tina – a film about Tina Turner – on March 5.

Directed by Academy Award-winning directors Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin, it is described as “the defining and inspirational record of one of the greatest survivors in modern music”.

Meanwhile Kelly Reichardt’s film First Cow, a 19th century drama set in the Pacific north-west and starring John Magaro, Toby Jones, Orion Lee and Ewen Bremner, will also have its UK premiere on March 5.

Tickets for the Sir Alex film are free but limited and will be available from noon on Thursday at glasgowfilm.org/festival.

The film is planned to open at cinemas from May 27 and will be available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and Ireland from May 29.

Allison Gardner, Glasgow Film chief executive and the festival’s co-director, said previously: “Glasgow Film Festival 2021 may look different to previous years, but what has not changed is the quality of incredible films from across the world that we are bringing to our audiences.”

The festival opens on February 24 with Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari and closes on March 7 with Suzanne Lindon’s Spring Blossom.

In total, the festival will screen ten world premieres, three European premieres and 49 UK premieres on its digital platform, Glasgow Film At Home.

Tickets for Tina, First Cow and Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In are available from 12pm on Thursday at glasgowfilm.org/festival, while tickets for all other events are on sale now from the same site.