Wings of Desire at Paisley Abbey
Paisley Abbey becomes the stage for pyrotechnics and a trapeze performance for Glasgow Film Festival's very special screening of Wim Wender's deeply romantic Wings of Desire
Glasgow Film Festival has long made a habit of screening movies in unusual locations, deftly striking a balance between novelty and revelation. While there’s certainly much of the former displayed at the onset of tonight’s logistics-defying programme – a cabaret band serenades the audience as flaming pyrotechnics illuminate the usually neglected surroundings of Paisley Abbey – things take a more ponderous turn once all have filed inside the venue.
Lauren Jamieson of aerial performance troupe Spinal Chord is found suspended above the stage on a trapeze, silhouetted against what will eventually serve as a projection screen. Beneath her, gloomy doyens of Glasgow’s experimental scene Tut Vu Vu and Hausfrau perform a set that’s equal parts elegy and doom-laden drone. The presence of the Paisley Abbey Choristers and performance artist Kathryn Elkin, meanwhile, shows the lengths the festival will go to create memorable one-off events.
Impressive as this all is, however, cynical cineastes may be inclined to dismiss such spectacle as mere window dressing. After all, Wings of Desire is recognised by many as one of the key works of 80s world cinema and watching it is a unique experience in itself. Similarly, though lacking the Abbey’s ornate grandeur, the average repertory cinema evokes no less an abundance of beauty and magic than tonight's setting.
As Wim Wenders’ masterpiece unfolds before us, however, it’s hard not to draw parallels between the torn Berlin depicted and the post-industrial locale to which we've flocked. With Paisley preparing to launch its bid for the title of UK City of Culture 2021, we reflect on the German capital as it was prior to the collapse of the Wall: proud but broken, propped up by the indomitable spirit of its residents and the beautiful, dormant architecture defining its skyline. The hope that Paisley could be restored to the same extent provides a fitting context for the film's themes of creativity, endurance and renewal.
An interview with GFF co-director Allison Gardner
Wings of Desire at Paisley Abbey took place 1 Nov (All Saints' Day)
Glasgow Film Festival 2016 takes place 18-28 Feb