FOR eighty years it has been at the beating heart of Glasgow's love for the moving image: a place for film, art, dating and, occasionally, the glamour of the red carpet.

The Glasgow Film Theatre, the compact art-deco cinema at the centre of the city, is celebrating 80 years of cinema this weekend.

The Rose Street institution, opened as The Cosmo in 1939, as Scotland's first independent arthouse cinema.

As well as generations of Glaswegians passing through its doors, stars such as Richard Gere and Quentin Tarantino have passed into its Art Deco interiors over the years.

The cinema became the GFT in 1974: it now has three screens, modern technology, a programme, including the annual Glasgow Film Festival, of more than 700 films a year.

It is home to stars as well as Glasgow citizens: visitors have included Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, David Lynch, Alan Rickman, Joss Whedon and Tilda Swinton, the cast of Game of Thrones, among many others.

The GFT is holding a weekend of free screenings this weekend, to mark the significant birthday.

"I think people love the fact that Glasgow has an independent cinema," said Allison Gardner, the GFT's Programme Director, who has worked there for more than 25 years.

"It is a cinema on a human scale, the films we show are often not for the mega-plex, they are films that maybe don't get the love, or the time, from them.

"The affection for the GFT is passed down through the generations: people who came to see Mr Hulot's Holiday here [Jacques Tati's 1953 movie], they tell their children and then they come, and I think that is how the character of the place has evolved over the years."

Initially the GFT had one screen, with 850 seats: now it has a main screen with 400 seats, a 142 seat cinema two and cinema three, with 60 seats.

Ms Gardner noted that the cinema is still a popular venue for dating couples, when asked about some of her most treasured memories of the cinema, she said: "I met my husband here, so there is that."

She added: "Over the years, our audiences have enjoyed a varied and broad programme of cinema on Rose Street; while the cinema has evolved, our ethos of excellence and Cinema for All remains.

"We are proud of all that has been achieved over the last 80 years and look forward to the future: evolving our accessibility programmes, bringing an exciting and varied programme of film and exclusive special events, and entertaining film-lovers for generations to come."

Paul Laverty, the award-winning screenwriter and GFT supporter, said: "I love going back to the GFT with our films; each Q and A has been special.

"I laughed out loud at some of the cheek after Sweet Sixteen.

"I remember the emotion after The Wind that Shakes the Barley. The mischief after The Angels’ Share. I remember sharp observations after Even the Rain. I remember the anger and debate after I, Daniel Blake. It feels like a circle, and a way of saying thanks to an old mate that has given me so much."

The actor David Tennan said: "Happy birthday Glasgow Film Theatre. Some of my most formative cinematic experiences took place at the GFT. It’s a magical place. Here’s to the next 80 years."

When The Cosmo opened Glaswegians were the UK's biggest fans of cinema - they went to the pictures an average of 51 times a year, compared to 35 times for the rest of Scotland and 21 in England.

The Cosmo, Scotland’s first art-house cinema - and only the second purpose-built arthouse cinema in Britain - first opened its doors to show ‘films of a specialised appeal’.

It is now a more modern proposition: it has 4K laser projection with Dolby digital surround sound, but can also show films in 35mm and 70mm formats, and can also show screenings with adjustments for people with autism.

When the Cosmo opened there were 114 cinemas in Glasgow with a total seating capacity of more than 175,000, and its first screening was Julien Duvivier’s Un Carnet de Bal (Dance Ticket), from 1937.

Charles Oakley, head of the Film Society of Glasgow, provided the Cosmo with advice on choosing films: Oakley also supplied one other important component: the cartoon of GFT cofounder George Singleton as ‘Mr Cosmo’.

In 1988 the building was B-listed by Historic Scotland, marking the cinema’s cultural and architectural significance, and in 2013 a major renovation of the cinema added its third screen, and it is now run as a charity.

Now in total, around 250,000 people pass through its doors a year and it is host to three film festivals: the Glasgow Film Festival, the Glasgow Short Film Festival and the Glasgow Youth Film Festival.

The box office record for the cinema is a recent one: in 2017, T2 Trainspotting sold the most tickets for the cinema.

Each year, more than 7,000 young people from Glasgow and their families attend free cinema screenings on Saturday mornings.

The highest admissions in the last 20 years go to the silent film The Artist (2012), while the highest grossing foreign language film is The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, followed closely by Coco Before Chanel.

The cinema's top 10 most popular directors on admissions are: Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Danny Boyle, Wes Anderson, the Coen Brothers, Tom Hooper, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino.

Apart from It’s A Wonderful Life, the most played title at GFT in the last 20 years has been Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, which received its UK premiere at Glasgow Film Festival in 2018.

Outside of its Christmas films, the most-frequently requested and played title in the past 20 years is Casablanca, followed by Blade Runner, Grease, Jaws, Some Like It Hot, Die Hard and The Shining.