11:00
Saturday 31 October in Belfast
Belfast times. Last refreshed Fri 18:46.
Showing Film only.
Saturday 31 October 12 listings
Morning 2
11:30
Competition Shorts – Programme #1
Competition Shorts – Programme #1 Dir. Ais Brady, 10mins Alor is young and frustrated, trying to figure out life while awkwardly drifting through parties with a mask covering her face. When she meets the charismatic Timur, the possibility of a life unencumbered by façades and shame changes her perception forever. A sweet and tender drama about embracing the beauty of life in all its forms, even a scarf blowing in the breeze of the night. Dir. Hannah Mamalis, 14 mins Anna’s life is coming to an end. But don’t worry too much, another Anna will replace her. Feeling wistful in her final moments, Anna writes a letter for her successor containing her observations, her advice, her humble pleasures and her guilty pleasures. Director Hannah Mamalis distils the sweet absurdities of modern life into this surreal fable, perhaps you too will learn something along the way. Dir. Will Peppercorn, 11mins A plucky young journalist is looking for a good-news story. Instead he stumbles upon a viciously bitter feud between two neighbouring farmers. Spotting an opportunity, the eternal optimist seeks to bury the hatchet between these rural rivals and return to the newspaper victorious. Michael Smiley and Paddy Jenkins star as the fierce farmers stuck in a hubristic clash of personalities. Dir. Sarah Gordon, 12mins Mary gets accused of being a witch. The rumour spreads like wildfire and she must defend herself against a rabble of restless villagers looking for any excuse to burn something at the stake. This scathing tale of small-town minds meeting the dangerous force of mob mentality is very timely, despite its brilliantly realised period setting.
Afternoon 6
12:00
Student Archive Showcase: Past Scenes Future Screens
This showcase brings together a selection of short films from students at Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast, presented in partnership with Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive. Spanning fiction, documentary and experimental work, these shorts bring together our screen heritage of the past with the filmmaking talent of the future.
13:20
Dracula (1958)
Hammer Films in partnership with Warner Bros resurrects Dracula in a landmark new 4K restoration featuring long-lost footage unseen for over 60 years. Opposite Peter Cushing's fearless Van Helsing, Christopher Lee brought a terrifying physicality and seductive menace to the role that would redefine the Count for generations. When Jonathan Harker arrives at a remote Transylvanian castle, he discovers that his mysterious host, Count Dracula, is a centuries-old vampire who feeds upon the blood of the living. As Dracula's reign of terror spreads across Europe, the determined Professor Van Helsing embarks on a desperate battle to destroy the Prince of Darkness before more innocent lives are claimed. Screenings include cinema exclusive short film (10 mins) exploring the film's restoration, featuring an introduction from John Gore.
13:30
BFF: Spider Baby
Spider Baby, otherwise known as The Maddest Story Ever Told, features horror stars Lon Chaney Jr. and Sid Haig in a bizarre cult-classic that twists tales like The Addams Family into depraved directions. In a lonesome dilapidated house, chauffeur Bruno cares for the Merrye children, all affected by a degenerative illness. When money-grubbing relatives visit unannounced to claim the house as their own, the Merrye family take action into their own hands. After the screening, we will be joined by Disability Action Research Kollective member Aaliyah Bates and artist and disability activist Deirdre McKenna for a panel discussion exploring how horror can act as reflection of social fears, or as a site of reclamation. This film features negative caricatures of people with disabilities and ableist behaviour.
13:30
Spider Baby & Post Screening Discussion
Spider Baby, otherwise known as The Maddest Story Ever Told, features horror stars Lon Chaney Jr. and Sid Haig in a bizarre cult-classic that twists tales like The Addams Family into depraved directions. In a lonesome dilapidated house, chauffeur Bruno cares for the Merrye children, all affected by a degenerative illness. When money-grubbing relatives visit unannounced to claim the house as their own, the Merrye family take action into their own hands. After the screening, we will be joined by Disability Action Research Kollective member Aaliyah Bates and artist and disability activist Deirdre McKenna for a panel discussion exploring how horror can act as reflection of social fears, or as a site of reclamation. Please note this film features negative caricatures of people with disabilities and ableist behaviour. This screening is a Relaxed (RS) event with subtitles for d/Deaf and hard of hearing (SDH). There will be BSL signing for the panel discussion.
14:30
Competition Shorts – Programme #3
Competition Shorts – Programme #3 Dir. Alan Hopkins, 16mins An injured teenager arrives at the door of a nurse and her boyfriend. While she tends to his wounds, her boyfriend becomes inundated with messages and tweets and stories and videos of hate and conspiracy and violence. According to his algorithm, this boy is the reason for it all, and mobs begin appearing at their front door. This timely drama has its finger on the pulse of our hate-inflicted age of paranoia, striking right at the pit of the stomach. Dir. Roisin Agnew, 8mins The subversive history of bogs in Ireland becomes a call to action, as the poisonous spread of data centres across the island is considered and resisted. Blending archive footage with 3D visuals, the film brilliantly reveals how the tendrils of colonialism have bled their way into the building blocks of capitalism forecasting a bleak future, one ruled over by parasitic machines hellbent on draining the environment/the culture/the world of energy & ideas. Dir. Liadán Roche, 16mins As Dublin cannibalises itself out to private interests and shady corporations, two trans lovers find an unexpected solution to the Irish housing crisis. It may not be permanent, but it’ll do for the night. Sexy and surreal, the film dives into the phantasmagoric unknown of mystic ‘third spaces’ and the innate horror of trying to live in a city that doesn’t care about you. Dir. Conor Kehelly, 9mins You go for a simple pint, sipping down that sweet nectar, when a peevish punter takes issue with the cut of your jib. From the perspective of a pint glass, a minor argument becomes a cosmic destruction of the self and a reckoning with the towering figure of the ‘old Irish fella’ in Irish culture. Where some people find Jesus at the bottom of a bottle, Kehelly discovers richly comic yet poignant material, rendering his findings through a beautifully anarchic animation style.
15:30
Wicker
Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s wonderfully eccentric fable is, at its core, a gentle love story starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Peter Dinklage. On the outskirts of a village by the sea, lives a Fisherwoman; smelly, single and perpetually ridiculed. One day, fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbours, she commissions herself a husband to be made from wicker. In an otherwise conservative town, this unconventional romance sparks outrage, jealousy and chaos.
Tonight 4
18:00
Cinemagic: Mark Kermode Film Night: Jason and the Argonauts Sold out
Mark Kermode returns to Cinemagic for an ‘Epic Adventure Special’ of his iconic Belfast Film Night, setting sail into his 2026 festival pick, Jason and the Argonauts . Join Mark as he charts a course through legendary thoughts on this year’s film releases before opening the floor for heroic audience questions. And as it’s Halloween, fancy dress is welcome. Why not come as your favourite mythological hero or creature? Mark will be in joined in conversation with Brian Henry Martin. Jason and the Argonauts hero Jason (Todd Armstrong) embarks on a quest aboard the Argo to retrieve the legendary Golden Fleece and reclaim his rightful throne. Facing treacherous seas, terrifying monsters, a bronze giant, and a skeleton army, Jason and his brave crew must overcome mythological perils though courage and the favour of the gods. Event Age Recommendation: 15+ Total Event Running Time: 3hrs Content warning: This film presentation contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy. The 3 7 th Cinemagic Film Festival runs throughout October -November in venues across Belfast, packed with new international films, workshops, education programmes, special events and Q&As to inspire young audiences. Visit cinemagic.org.uk for more details.
18:10
Scream
Back at QFT for its 30th anniversary, Scream is legendary director Wes Craven's funny, clever and scary meta-horror classic. In the small American town of Woodsboro, a psychotic murderer with a love of horror flicks murders teenager Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore). The killer then begins terrorising Casey's classmate, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), whose mother was murdered a year earlier. As the body count begins to rise, Sidney and her friends find themselves contemplating the "rules" of horror films in order to survive. "Remains super smart and scary 30 years on" - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
20:30
Wicker
Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s wonderfully eccentric fable is, at its core, a gentle love story starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård and Peter Dinklage. On the outskirts of a village by the sea, lives a Fisherwoman; smelly, single and perpetually ridiculed. One day, fed up with her stuffy, small-minded neighbours, she commissions herself a husband to be made from wicker. In an otherwise conservative town, this unconventional romance sparks outrage, jealousy and chaos.
21:30