About

Named after the practice of clandestine dissemination of censored and forbidden texts in communist states, Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival is an audience-focused film festival based in Scotland. The festival takes place annually, with a main programme of screenings in Glasgow taking place over a week in early autumn, and selected screenings in other locations and online. With a diverse programme of meticulously curated retrospectives and new films, as well as special events such as animation collections and short film showcases, Samizdat is the first Scotland-based festival dedicated exclusively to cinema from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.

The 2025 edition of Samizdat is supported by Screen Scotland’s Film Festival and Screening Programme Fund and Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI.

Venues

The in-person part of the 2025 festival will take place at The Pyramid at Anderston and Glasgow Film Theatre, with further venues in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and other locations to be announced.

Tickets and access

Samizdat strives to ensure that our line-up can be seen by as many people as possible. Most of our film screenings are priced on a sliding scale, where the attendees are invited to pay £2/£4/£6/£8/£10/£12 per ticket. Every film with sound is shown with subtitles, and some are screened with descriptive subtitles. Tickets for in-person events can be purchased online.

Submissions

Every year, we accept short film submissions from filmmakers of any level of experience through our FilmFreeway page. The submission period is currently closed.

Meet the team

  • Harriet Idle

    Festival Director and Programme Manager

  • Dylan Beck

    Festival Manager and Curator (Baltic cinema and Shorts)

  • Andrew Currie

    Festival Director and Curator

  • Holly Allan

    Marketing Coordinator

  • Ilia Ryzhenko

    Curator (Central Asian cinema)

  • Natalia Guzevataya

    Producer and Curator (Ukrainian cinema and Shorts)

  • misha irek

    Producer and Curator (the Caucasus, East Germany, and Shorts)

  • Joe McFarlane

    Producer and Curator

  • Kirill Kartashov

    Producer and Curator (currently on leave)

Our partners and sponsors

funders

venue partners