Belfast Film Festival preview – 10 days, 30 countries, a myriad of perspectives and stories (Thursday 29 October to Saturday 7 November)

Ten days of cinema from at home and abroad beckons with the Belfast Film Festival screening films from 30 countries from Thursday 29 October through to Saturday 7 November. Here are some of my picks from the programme (PDF) … get booking!

Thursday 29 October

Lost City is documentary filmmaker Seán Murray’s first foray into fictional features. Expect boxing, violence, a Limerick gangster, a woman with a troubled past being protected, and a starry cast in this film that opens the festival. Cineworld at 19:00.

How To Divorce During The War is set in Vilnius as a married couple decide to divorce right at the start of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Tensions and hypocrisy play out as the war impacts their separation. Queen’s Film Theatre at 18:20.

Friday 30

Wild Horse Nine sees Martin McDonagh turn his cinematic compass towards 1970s Chile as two CIA operatives (John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell) are dispatched to Easter Island. A black comedic political allegory. Queen’s Film Theatre at 18:00.

Saturday 31

An afternoon of Competition Shorts, screened in four batches, contain some likely gems including Sarah Gordon’s witch-trial Mary Got Fingered and Thomas Bennett’s The Galley. Queen’s Film Theatre from 11:30.

Sunday 1 November

Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep is Rakan Mayasi’s feature debut. Set against the backdrop of the Lebanon–Syria border, when a man accidentally kills a member of a rival clan while searching for his missing cousin, his sisters are traded to preserve the peace. Queen’s Film Theatre at 15:15.

Monday 2

Our House is the debut feature by screenwriter and director Peter Young. Where there’s a will there’s a … row which in this dark comedy, turns out to be bitter, absurd and even deadly when a solicitor reveals that his client changed her will to split her house between three children rather than passing it onto the son who had cared for her in later years. Odeon at 18:30.

Tuesday 3

A Long Winter follows the all-male household in a remote mountain home after the disappearance of the mother figure. Snow curtails the search parties, yet the trauma is tinged with liberty until the thaw threatens the new dynamic. Directed by Anthony Haigh adapting Colm Toibin’s short story. Queen’s Film Theatre at 17:45.

You’ll Never Believe Who’s Dead is director Dallan Shovlin’s feature debut. When the Cosgrove family fall on tough times, a whimsical suggestion results in them robbing one of their neighbours. A heist with a keen sense of the pressures facing contemporary Ireland. Cineworld at 19:00.

Wednesday 4

Dry Leaf captures the rich rural landscape of post-Soviet Georgia on a Sony Ericsson phone as a man searches for his photographer daughter. (I was a big fan back in the day of the P800 and P900 models, though this was filmed in glorious 144p on a Sony Ericsson W595.) Expect a pixellated natural world with an impressionistic aesthetic. Beanbag Cinema from 18:00.

Skintown adapts Ciaran McMenamin’s novel to tell the story of two recently unemployed lads. Flute bands, rural raves, risky opportunities woven together with familiar locations in the titular Enniskillen as well as Portrush. Directed by Kieron J Walsh with a stellar cast. Cineworld at 18:30.

Thursday 5

Faraway Home is directed by Terry Loane. Karl and Rose are Jewish children who escape Nazi-occupied Vienna via kindertransport and are brought to the Millisle refugee farm. Odeon at 18:00.

Star Nhà East presents The Inseminator, a magic realism portrait of patriarchy as a father weighted down by his own mortality becomes fixated on the idea that his son with an intellectual disability will never find a suitable wife to continue the family line with a male heir. Tradition, rural life, fear and care in Bùi Kim Quy’s film that was banned soon after its release in Vietnam. Queen’s Film Theatre at 18:00.

Friday 6

The Peril at Pincer Point sees an easy-going sound man is sent to record some location audio and finds himself caught up in prophesies and missing persons. A new handmade horror film with crustaceans and cardioid microphones. Queen’s Film Theatre at 21:00.

Saturday 7

Mouse explores a multi-generational friendship that forms out of grief after the death of a teenager’s best friend. Sweet and brave with huggable characters. Queen’s Film Theatre at 18:00.

I See Buildings Fail Like Lightning is directed by Clio Barnard, written by Enda Walsh and adapted from Keiron Goddard’s novel. Five childhood friends in Birmingham face their 30s against a backdrop of a housing crisis, gentrification, increased responsibilities and tested friendships. Cineworld at 19:00.

Another two BFF events to note that will happen after the official close of the festival.

Sunday 8 November

The Librarians looks at the culture war struggles of librarians in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and beyond who have united to combat book banning demands from pressure groups. A timely documentary given the current DfC consultation on Libraries NI. Screening will be followed by a Q&A with director and production team. Queen’s Film Theatre at 12:30.

Wednesday 9 December

75th anniversary screening of Brian Desmond Hurst’s 1951 film Scrooge (A Christmas Carol). Alastair Sim plays the title role in perhaps the most faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novella. A rare chance to see the prolific east Belfast-born director 1951 film on the big screen. Odeon at 18:00. Tickets don’t seem to be available yet.

The full programme (PDF) is available on the Belfast Film Festival website.