With only two weeks to go until the Belfast Film Festival gets underway for the seventeenth time, we look at some of the highlights you might have missed in this year’s programme.
MINDHORN
This year’s opening film is British comedy Mindhorn starring cult actor Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley, A Field In England), who will be with us at the screening!
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
Sure to be one of the best documentaries of the year, this Oscar-nominated film uses the book James Baldwin never finished to tell the story of race in America. One of the most compelling voices on black American experience, Baldwin’s original words connect civil rights movements of the past with Black Lives Matter and the fight against racism today.
THE RED TURTLE
Studio Ghibli is back with a charming new film! Through images alone (the film has no dialogue) we follow the story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited only by sea creatures and birds. It’s a timeless, simple story and like all Ghibli films will be a big hit with kids of all ages (and your inner child).
THE LEVELLING
Upcoming filmmaker Hope Dickson-Leach presents a story of rural family life after suicide in this tightly performed drama. When Clover Catto returns to the family farm after her brother’s death she discovers shocking truths about both him and her embittered father.
ATMO HORROX
In true Belfast Film Festival tradition we present this surreal treat from director Pat Tremblay of Canada. Part of the Altered States section of the programme, the film wanders through a universe of odd characters, far-out costumes and amazing colours.