Brian Cox paid tribute to his Scottish heritage on the red carpet Thursday at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Glenrothan, arriving in a traditional black kilt alongside his wife, Nicole.
Cox, 79, paired the kilt with a dark grey blazer, black waistcoat and shirt, long black socks and polished leather loafers. Nicole, 56, wore a dark grey metallic strapless gown and a green tartan headpiece as the couple posed for photographers outside the screening.
Glenrothan, written, directed and co-starring Cox, is a 2025 Scottish drama about two estranged brothers who reunite when one returns to the Highlands to try to save the family whisky distillery. Alan Cumming co-stars as Donal, with Cox as Sandy. The film was shot in Edinburgh, Glasgow and rural Stirlingshire.
The Toronto premiere follows a decision by Cox and the film’s backers to open Glenrothan at TIFF rather than at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, despite financial support from Screen Scotland. The project received £540,000 from Screen Scotland toward development and production. Two other films that received Screen Scotland funding — James McAvoy’s California Schemin', the thriller Fuze, and a Frankenstein remake — also premiered in Toronto this year; together the works received about £1.7 million in Scottish public funding.
Cox has publicly criticised the state of the Edinburgh festival in recent weeks. Speaking to The Herald, he said, "You can’t sell anything at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Nobody is bothered about that element of it — how you sell the f****** product. There is something immensely practical about art — it’s all about how you sell it." He also said the festival "has lost viability" after the financial crisis that nearly ended the EIFF in 2022.
Paul Ridd, director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, said festivals and filmmakers are engaged in launch strategies and that decisions about premieres are part of that process. "There were a number of terrific films we considered where the stakeholders ultimately made the decision to premiere elsewhere later in the year. This is all part of the process," Ridd said.
No specific U.K. release date for Glenrothan has been announced. Distributors expect the film to begin reaching international audiences this season with wider releases anticipated in 2026.
Cox’s appearance at TIFF comes amid heightened interest in the actor’s film work following his Emmy-winning television profile. The Glenrothan premiere underscores continued industry debate about the balance between national cultural institutions and international market strategies when filmmakers choose where to debut their work.