The Glasgow Film Archive will act as a cultural institution where world cinema is celebrated and the wider aspects of film are explored through exhibitions, panel discussions and study. Positioned as both an archival institution and a public gathering space, the institute aims to encourage a deeper understanding of film as storytelling medium, and a cultural artefact. The Glasgow Film Archive will be an educational and entertainment extension run by Film City Govan, a film production base located in Govan.

The archive houses three auditoriums, designed for film screenings and public dialogues with filmmakers, industry professionals, and scholars. The adaptable spaces such as the galleries, libraries and theatres will contain material related to and involved with film production, with film retrospectives that are complemented by lectures and panel discussions. These will contextualize cinema in relation to society, politics and artistic movements.

The film archives will house a rotating collection of cinematic materials, including B-roll footage, scripts, props, and literature that document and analyse the process of a film’s making and its contextual contribution to society. The archives are designed as semi public spaces that balance preservation with accessibility while offering researchers, students, and film enthusiasts opportunities to engage personally with film history. Specialized study areas and a local lending system will enable deeper academic exploration and learning.

Complementing the archives, the galleries will showcase rotating exhibitions that highlight the visual and material culture of cinema. The galleries will be open to the public on a walk in basis. These spaces will bridge academic inquiry with audience engagement, offering an educational experience through interactive displays, the studying of film artefacts, and multimedia installations that contribute to film’s position within a wider societal context outside of simply screening a film.

A key feature of the archive will be its rolling thematic programming. Bimonthly, a new curated theme will be introduced to the archive explored through exhibitions and rolling film screenings. Themes could range from national cinema movements to explorations of specific genres in filmmaking. The programmes will be curated through a collaborative approach, drawing on the expertise of in-house staff, guest curators, and industry partners, ensuring a constantly evolving and diverse programme keeping the content of the archive fresh for the community to explore.

Architecturally, the Glasgow Film Archive will be conceived as a spatial experience, with fluid transitions between screening spaces, archives, and exhibition areas, encouraging both serendipitous discovery and structured engagement. Natural light enters through the west facing glass curtain wall where the galleries and libraries are positioned as well as through a small atrium that penetrates the central circulation space. The materiality is warm yet neutral lending the archive to be suitable for the rotating film themes whilst providing an environment that is protective of delicate media and evocative of the sensory world of cinema.

By weaving together exhibition, education, and preservation, the Glasgow Film Archive will establish itself as a landmark institution for film culture, a space where the past, present, and future of cinema converge in an ongoing dialogue between filmmakers, scholars, and the public.