Record crowds have flocked to Glasgow Film Festival this year.

Organisers said 43,147 people attended the 12-day event, compared to 42,224 last year.

For the 16th incarnation of the festival, stars such as Geoge Mackay, Simon Pegg and Celia Imrie attended screenings of their films in the city.

The festival has been hailed for its impact on the city, with one councillor saying "there is an extra buzz" during the annual event.

Allan Hunter, the co-director of the festival said: "We presented a programme with a diverse, wide-ranging spectrum of cinema experiences and audiences have responded magnificently.

"One of the joys of the festival is to see the passion for films as diverse as Arracht, Les Miserables and Our Ladies and the warmth of the welcome for a guest list that included, Alice Winocour, Celia Imrie, Simon Pegg and Ingvar Sigurdsson.

"Our audiences are a tonic and an inspiration."

READ MORE: Glasgow Film Festival's 2020 programme in full

Glasgow City Council depute leader David McDonald, who is also the chairman of leisure agency Glasgow Life, said: "You really can't miss the effect the Glasgow Film Festival has on the city.

"There is an extra buzz, a heightened vibrancy and a sense something special is happening.

"The Glasgow Film Festival, like so many events held here, does amazing work bringing incredible talent to Scotland while creating a unique occasion recognised across the world.

"This has been another unforgettable celebration of film delivered by a festival which gets better and better every year."

Each year, the festival celebrates young directors with its Audience Award, given to first or second-time film-makers and voted on by attendees.

The award winner, announced at an end of festival celebration, was Tom Sullivan's Arracht - an Irish-Gaelic thriller set during the potato famine.

With its final day falling on International Women's Day, organisers put together a programme to promote the work of female film-makers and actors.