We are so excited to finally announce our full programme for the 19th Belfast Film Festival!!
We have been working hard for the past four months to bring you our strongest programme to date and we can assure you it was worth the wait…
With 90 features, 80 short films and an exciting range of guests, special events and virtual reality work we can guarantee there will be something for everyone!
Our special guests include Aamir Khan, an award winning director, actor and producer, who will be taking part in an In Conversation event at the Waterfront Hall. To celebrate Aamir Khan’s work we will also be screening his well known films 3 Idiots, Dhobi Ghat, Dangal and Taare Zameen Par in the Movie House, Dublin Road.
Robert Carlyle, a BAFTA winning and Emmy nominated actor, know for films such as The Full Monty and Trainspotting will be taking part in a Q&A with Brian Henry Martin at the Movie House, Dublin Road.
Lenny Abrahamson, an award-winning Irish screenwriter and director, known for films such as Room and Frank will be taking part in a Q&A with Hugh Odling Smee in the Queen’s Film Theatre. Check out all our Talking Film events here.
Our Opening Night Gala, A Bump Along the Way, boasts a whole host of local talent including writer Tess McGowan, director Shelly Love, producer Louise Gallagher and actors Bronagh Gallagher and Lola Petticrew. Equal parts funny and poignant, the film centres around the awkward relationship between immature mum Pamela and disapproving daughter, Allegra.
Our Closing Night Gala is the electrifying Beats, directed by Brian Welsh. Two best friends in a small Scottish town head out for one last night together before life takes them in different directions. Going to an illegal rave, they journey into an underworld of anarchy, freedom and collision with the law as they share a night that they will never forget. A universal story of friendship, rebellion and the irresistible power of gathered youth.
Our New Cinema programme includes a range of exciting new films from a vast array of genres. Heavy Trip, a film about the metal band called Impaled Rektum, tells the story of a band who have been together for 12 years but haven’t played a single gig. The directors Jukka and Juuso Laatio are coming to the Belfast Film Festival to take part in a Q&A following the film.
We are also screening the The Angel, a stylish portrayal of a shallow serial killer in 1970’s Argentina, Women at War, a funny and warm-hearted musical tale of a woman on a personal environmental crusade and Eight Grade, a keenly observed and achingly funny portrait of a thirteen year old girl. See what else we have in our New Cinema programme. Check out our Altered States programme here.
Our special events include a screening of Strictly Ballroom in the Titanic Hotel Ballroom complete with dance demonstrations, Bruce Springsteen on Screen, a night celebrating all things Bruce Springsteen and a screening of The Matrix in the Sonic Arts Research Lab.
We also have our regulars; the BFF Quiz, Film Devour and Cinema Sports as well as our highly anticipated Short Film Competition and our selection of NI Independents.
If there is too much you want to see this year you might want to think about getting a festival pass – buy one here!