Set during Brazil's brutal dictatorship, The Secret Agent blends a dazzling thriller plot with a compelling depiction of a community creating a pocket of resistance Kleber Mendonça Filho's The Secret Agent is our film of the month – read the ★★★★★ review now

Amanda Seyfried gives a stunning performance as the female Christ in Mona Fastvold's transcendent chronicle of faith, utopia and intractable pain ★★★★ film review: THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE, out this Friday

"Mary Bronstein’s portrait of a mother pushed to her limits would be almost comedic in extremity were it not for the brutal, brilliant construction of its cyclone of horrors" ★★★★ for IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU – review by @carmenchloie.bsky.social

James McAvoy will present his directorial debut, California Schemin', in person at @glasgowfilmfest.bsky.social this year – other filmmakers in attendance include Mark Jenkin and Felipe Bustos Sierra www.theskinny.co.uk/film/news/gl... @marghjenkin.bsky.social @debasers.bsky.social

Felipe Bustos Sierra on EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET - @theskinnymag.bsky.social www.theskinny.co.uk/film/intervi...

“When you destroy the ethical fabric of a society, the spirit of the nation, it really takes a lot of time to rebuild it.” For @theskinnymag.bsky.social, I spoke with Hasan Hadi about his Cannes prize-winning debut feature THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE, in UK cinemas now www.theskinny.co.uk/film/intervi...

Ahead of her @carlajeaston.bsky.social-produced debut LP, we catch up with Edinburgh songwriter Lou Mclean for this week's Spotlight...

"The dinners are intimate... nobody is a stranger when we close for the night" We speak to Glasgow-based supper clubs and community meals about bonding through a meal shared with friends and strangers alike

"We'd had some victories in the Chile solidarity campaign, but nothing really so immediate, nothing so visceral.” Felipe Bustos Sierra's film Everybody to Kenmure Street immortalises a historical protest on Glasgow's Kenmure Street in 2021

"When I went to the NHS, I feel I was actually being told 'This disruption doesn’t fit the story we have about your body, so we’d rather not hear about it.'" One writer explores the unacknowledged intersection of capitalism and perimenopause/menopause www.theskinny.co.uk/intersection...

Forty-two years on from its release, we explore why Glasgow needs The Blue Nile's A Walk Across the Rooftops more than ever for reimagination and reinterpretation

'Enter The Woom Room, whether in one of their physical or online spaces, and you’ll find yourself tumbling, Alice in Wonderland-style, into Nänni-pää’s beautifully curated graphic utopia...'

Glasgow Short Film Festival is back; @glasgowshort.bsky.social's Scottish Competition includes new films by Miranda Stern, Duncan Cowles, Will Anderson and Leyla Coll-O'Reilly among others... www.theskinny.co.uk/film/news/gs... [by @jamiedunnesq.bsky.social]

"Shooting this film outside Iraq with non-Iraqi actors would have produced something that couldn’t really survive even a few months later, let alone years" Hasan Hadi discusses his debut film The President's Cake – interview by @jslaterwilliams.bsky.social

"Sometimes when you tour with bigger bands, and you see their whole team, you're like, 'Wow, I'm doing 15 people's jobs'" Ahead of their sophomore release Hagridden, Scottish siblings Brèagha and Onnagh Cuinn of BRATAKUS reflect on a decade of DIY punk

"It’s not a good idea to go into something that can only work if you say exactly how you feel by not saying exactly how you feel" In this month's advice column, one reader is uncertain about how to tackle a long distance relationship

'hemlocke springs' first full-length album is a spectacular debut, each track bearing springs' cerebral thumbprint.' ★★★★★ for our February album of the month, 'the apple tree under the sea' by hemlocke springs www.theskinny.co.uk/music/review...

'For all the true crime aficionados, Murder Bimbo is ready and waiting...' www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-r...

Ahead of its tenth birthday celebrations, we chat to Glasgow Improv Theatre's Martin James www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/inter...

Weaving together investigation, story and memoir, Thea Lenarduzzi's The Tower runs a complex course... www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-r... @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social

Robbie Williams effortlessly packs down the RW experience (voice, performance, and ego) to fit an intimate Barrowlands gig... www.theskinny.co.uk/music/live-m...

#Sundance review: Molly Manners’ debut film EXTRA GEOGRAPHY romanticises the minimal-tech era of the 1990s and early 2000s, while delivering some universal, hard-to-swallow truths

From the latest episode of The Cineskinny podcast, @jamiedunnesq.bsky.social on the impact of the CCA closure on Glasgow's film scene Full episode here, or wherever you get your podcasts... open.spotify.com/episode/6EoN...

A light touch of farce is no match for the heart and talent of Saul Adamczewski and Insecure Men

It's another Friday update to our New Scottish Music playlist, now ft. Tony Morris & Isa Gordon, @andrewwasylyk.bsky.social, KAVARI, @brokenchanter.bsky.social, Pippa Blundell, Rustie and more Listen on Spotify... open.spotify.com/playlist/6r1... ... and YouTube: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Our coverage of Sundance 2026 continues with a ★★★★ review of JOSEPHINE; a lucid analysis of the banality of male aggression filtered through the eyes of an eight-year-old girl

At City Art Centre, Michael Fullerton’s intimate portraits of asylum seekers give voice to migrant stories while far-right anti-migration protests take place in Scotland www.theskinny.co.uk/art/features...

A deeply personal hour with storyteller and multi-disciplinary artist Iddo Oberski offers insights into what it means to be human Read our ★★★★ review of the show returning to @scotstorycentre.bsky.social and @cnauldtheatre.bsky.social

From Edinburgh to Park City, writer-director Louis Paxton brings a piece of Orkney folklore to Sundance with his oddball feature debut, which won the NEXT Innovator Award at the Sundance Film Festival www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-rel...

This week we’re delighted to be highlighting not one but two artists in our Spotlight, as Isa Gordon and Tony Morris gear up to release a beaut of a 12'' dance record together...

A Turner Prize winning artist comes to a @dcadundee.bsky.social this month – for recs on art events at @womenslibrary.bsky.social, @fruitmarket.bsky.social and more in February, check out @rachelashenden.bsky.social's round-up!

"We’re from America, we are not okay." ★★★★ gig review: EZRA FURMAN @ Art School, Glasgow

"Here’s a band offering a balmy chink of summery light" Read our ★★★★ review of long time caller, first time listener, the new album by vegas water taxi, out tomorrow on @pnkslm.bsky.social

Februrary is loaded with piano beauty from Drexler, indie-pop from Lou Mclean, raging punk from Bratakus and a 12" dance record from Isa Gordon and Tony Morris, plus loads more Read @tallahbrash.bsky.social's round-up of new Scottish music

"An infectious stream of dreamy alternative rock" ★★★★ album review: YOU WISH by Dream Nails, out tomorrow via Marshall Records

This month in Scottish book events, there's the launch of Fife Queer Zine Fest, book launches in Edinburgh and collage and zine workshops in Glasgow 📚

February's gig calendar sees some big Scottish names hit the road, plus chances to catch Jacob Alon, Magdalena Bay, corto.alto and Danny L Harle 🎶

Lacking days but packing parties, February is set to be short, sweet and sweaty; our top club night picks including Bakey, Manga Saint Hilare and Jamz Supernova – read the full round-up below

"It’s both refined and fun, and the exact sort of thing you’d want to plonk in the middle of a table full of pals" Our food column looks at Brown's of Leith, the new collaboration from the folk behind Timberyard, Shrimpwreck and Civerino's 🍕

'Girl Group make a pretty strong case that they may just be exactly what the country needs...' ★★★★★ from us for their Glasgow show last week

"The songs sit somewhere between hymns and nursery rhymes [...] in the sense they seem to have always existed" Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s LAUGHTER IN SUMMER is born of pain but makes for life-affirming listening – ★★★★ www.theskinny.co.uk/music/review... @transgressive.bsky.social

HippFest, Scotland's premier celebration of silent cinema, is back – newly-commissioned soundtracks, Nordic folk parties, 'the British Metropolis', and classics from Keaton, Laurel + Hardy etc @jamiedunnesq.bsky.social on this year's programme...

For the February @theskinnymag.bsky.social, I spoke with Kleber Mendonça Filho about THE SECRET AGENT and Caméra d'Or winner Hasan Hadi about THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE

New films from indie cinema legends, exciting festival hits and intriguing documentaries – here are @jamiedunnesq.bsky.social's picks from this year's GFF lineup www.theskinny.co.uk/film/opinion... @glasgowfilmfest.bsky.social

"The electronics are subsumed into a vortex of noise or choked-off cries" ★★★★ album review: URGH by Mandy, Indiana, out this Friday www.theskinny.co.uk/music/review... @mandyindiana.bsky.social

"As much as I don't like discomfort and pain, I feel like it was a bit of creative inspiration that helped shape the music into what it is" Ahead of upcoming release PLAGUE MUSIC, we catch up with Glasgow-based KAVARI to talk health, horror and the state of EDM

This month in Scottish film events, look out for celebrations for Valentine's Day (and Galentine’s Day), a tribute to the foreboding cinema of Béla Tarr and so many great screenings at Glasgow Film Festival 🩷 💜

"Homegrown performers tap into the magic of the source material to stunning effect" King Tut's celebrated Burn's Night with a setlist of local artists covering Dumbarton-born, oversized-suit-wearer David Byrne 🕺 Read our review now

The one and only Kelburn Garden Party is back – @pictishtrail.bsky.social, SHERELLE, @snappedankles.bsky.social, Emma-Jean Thackray, and @joshuaidehen.bsky.social head the lineup; SOAPBOX and Indoor Foxes lead the first wave of our Pyramid Stage takeover www.theskinny.co.uk/music/news/k...

"Our shared love of dream pop and vintage synths created a great blend of influences" Our spotlight is on husband-and-wife duo Sarah/Shaun, whose EP In Silence Love Speaks the Loudest is now out www.theskinny.co.uk/music/interv... @tallahbrash.bsky.social @sarahshaunofficial.bsky.social