GLASGOW'S annual film festival has confirmed record visitor figures and plans to expand as it moves closer to being the biggest film festival in Scotland.

This year's Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) had final admission figures of 41,451, a 6% increase on 2013, a figure now within a few thousand admissions of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF).

Last year the EIFF, which is in June, also saw an increase in admissions - that is all entries to film screenings both free and paid-for - with 44,000, a 10% increase.

The GFF also announced it is to expand next year - it will run for 12 days rather than 11.

The 2015 GFF will run from February 18 to March 1 and still be based in the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT), but Allison Gardner, the festival's co-director, said it would explore new venues too, as it did this year.

The admissions number has grown significantly since the first festival in 2005, when it attracted 6000.

Films this year included the closing gala Under The Skin.

She said: "We haven't even begun to plan 2015's programme yet, but there are already so many different organisations and venues we'd still love to work with across the city, especially after the sell-out success of our Kelvingrove event, and having three screens at GFT has made a huge difference in the variety of films we were able to show this year.

"We're going to use that extra day well and wisely."

Of the comparison to its Edinburgh counterpart, she said: "There's no rivalry - we think it's great Scotland can support two such diverse film festivals."

Ms Gardner added: "We're really pleased with these final figures; it's great to end our tenth year on such a high note.

"Glasgow Film Festival has always been focused on its audience, and they've made it clear they want more - who are we to argue?"

Admission figures include three festivals: the GFF, the Glasgow Short Film Festival and the Glasgow Youth Film Festival.