We all need something to look forward to, and no more than people who live in Scotland. With this in mind, we’ve decided to re-locate this week’s TGIM to the bonny highlands of… Glasgow. In the next few weeks there are no less than FIVE brilliant film festivals under the umbrella of the Glasgow Film Festival – and we’re here to fill you in on them. Anyone fancy a road trip?

The Short Film Festival, The Youth Film Festival, The Music And Film Festival, Frightfest, THE MAIN FESTIVAL ITSELF – jeepers, there’s a lot going on in Glasgow in February. The main festival itself promises to showcase not only the best of British film-making (with screenings of films like Wild Bill, How To Re-Establish A Vodka Empire and R-Patz vehicle Bel Ami), but the latest in European features (such as Vincent Cassel’s The Monk and Noomi Rapace’s Babycall). There’s celebration of fashion in film, of little-known indigenous cultures, of hard-hitting documentaries , as well as, of course, a plethora of local talent. In a word, it’s massive.

The 9th-12th is an explosion of short film madness – over 150 shorts being shown at fifty three events over four days. Competition screenings, retrospectives, masterclasses, live performances and parties, it’s going to be a feverish flurry of action perfect for those with short-to-no attention spans:

Find out more about Glasgow Short Film Festival here
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With a programme entirely devised by teens, by all rights The Glagow Youth Film Festival should be bloody dreadful. But with a line-up including Napoleon Dynamite, Terri, Tales Of The Night 3D and Princess Monoke, it’s shaping up to be quite the event for younger film enthusiasts. As with the short film fest, the programme is also littered with competitions, workshops and masterclasses – everything from movie poster design to adapting film for the stage – we defy even the emo-y of emo movie teens not to find something that piques their (obviously pretty alternative) interests…

Lovers of film and music unite! The Film and Music Festival promises to ‘champion the lost, the unseen, the psychedelic, the imagined and the nostalgic’ in this year’s offering. The 2012 programme includes unmissable live events such as a rare performance from Simeon of cult 1960s avant-garde act Silver Apples, the return of Wet Sounds, US ethereal art rockers High Places and the horror-obsessed, otherworldliness of Umberto with a live soundtrack to a secret film. Blending experimental sonic and visual explorations, it’s certainly not going to be like any other festival you visit this year…

And how could we possibly forget Frightfest? Packing in more horror into two days than most zombies pack into your very skull, it’s the seventh year of the cult festival, and it’s involvement with the Glasgow Film Fest is heavier than ever. Eleven premieres previews and special events in but two days, ready to whet your appetite for the London equivalent in August. Sure, one of the films being shown is called Wang’s Arrival, but don’t let that put you off.

Learn more about the Glasgow Film Festival here, if you think your face can take any more information. Dammit, Scotland, why are you so far from our grasp?