The 24th Belfast Film Festival (October 31-November 9) is set to showcase the best films from across the globe alongside home-grown talent.
Fréwaka
Fréwaka
Opening the festival on Halloween night is NI filmmaker Aislinn Clarke’s Irish language horror. Fréwaka tells the story of care assistant Shoo, who, rather than confront the death of her mother, takes a job looking after an elderly woman in a large and remote country house. As the two women slowly come to trust each other, events take a turn that mean they are forced to face up to the truth about each other’s lives.
October 31, 7pm, Cineworld
The Wise Guy, gala screening
The Wise Guy
A heartfelt and original drama which centres around an 11-year-old boy whose chance encounter with an enigmatic yet familiar stranger has a profound impact on him. With stand-out performances from Senan Jennings and Darrell D’Silva, and with nods to classic gangster movies as well as quirky French cinema, this is a film that keeps you wondering long after it’s over.
November 9, 7pm, Cineworld
Dead Man’s Money, gala screening
Ambitious Young Henry works in the pub owned by his uncle Old Henry. When Old Henry starts a new relationship with local woman ‘The Widow’ Maureen Tweed, Young Henry hatches a plan to secure the inheritance and brings on the services of a shady pub customer. Paul Kennedy’s drama brings a light touch to some dark themes, with performances from Ciarán McMenamin, Pat Shortt, Judith Roddy, Gerard Jordan and Kathy Kiera Clarke.
November 3, 6pm, Queen’s Film Theatre
Housewife of the Year, gala screening
Telling the story of this now largely forgotten Irish beauty pageant, Ciaran Cassidy’s docufilm is a funny and at times sweet portrait of a uniquely Irish approach to the pageant format (one that was immortalised in an episode of Father Ted) but also the troubling sexism of the time.
November 9, 6.30pm, Queen’s Film Theatre
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Bring Them Down, screening and Q&A
Christopher Andrews’s debut feature is a refreshing stylistic take on the Irish rural drama, with compelling performances from Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott and an eerie score from Bangor’s Hannah Peel. Set in Galway, two neighbouring sheep farms with a troubled history unhappily co-exist. When an act of thoughtless vandalism occurs, it spirals into a pattern of ever more violent tit-for-tat reprisals.
November 1, 6pm, Queen’s Film Theatre
Anne Devlin, screening and Q&A
Anne Devlin film
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Pat Murphy’s seminal Irish film, BFF is presenting a rare opportunity to see it on the big screen, followed by a Q&A with its writer and director Pat Murphy, lead actor Bríd Brennan and cinematographer Thaddeus O’Sullivan. The conversation will be led by filmmaker Margo Harkin.
November 8, 6pm Queen’s Film Theatre
Ulster Mirror
This special archive event at Blackstaff House is part of celebrations marking 100 years of BBC NI and will feature footage from the 1950s programme Ulster Mirror, with an experimental twist, and commentary from Professor John Hill, an expert on the history of NI television.
November 6, 8pm, BBC Blackstaff House
Beautiful and Loud and Clear
Beautiful Loud and Clear
Two friends keep their long-distance relationship alive by sending each other regular voice notes. When they reunite for a few days over Christmas, old feelings return. The screening of this NI independent film is one of three world premieres at the festival.
November 6, 7pm, The Black Box
Naila and the Uprising
This 2017 documentary by filmmaker Julia Bacha explores the history of non-violent resistance in Palestine through the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh and a fierce community of women at the frontlines in the late 1980s. This screening is part of Cinema Days, a global call to action from Filmlab Palestine.
November 2, 8.15pm, The Black Box
The Long Short Weekend Pass
Anyone involved or interested in short films won’t want to miss this weekend of talks, screenings and networking, this year featuring four in-competition programmes, four new Irish shorts programmes and a Northern Ireland Screen showcase followed by a producers’ mixer.
The International Competition
This contest enters its third year, with screenings of eight films from first- and second-time filmmakers from across the world. This year’s jury panel will be led by Radu Jude, Dorota Lech and Dean Kavanagh.
For the full schedule, see belfastfilmfestival.org