12:50
Tuesday 3 November in Belfast
Belfast times. Last refreshed Fri 19:33.
Showing Film only.
Tuesday 3 November 11 listings
Afternoon 3
15:00
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.
16:00
‘Heavy, Direct, Quick’ Performance Art Workshop With Rehearsal Space
Rehearsal Space is an emerging performance art collective based in Belfast. Through workshops and open sessions, they create a safe space for participants to explore performance. Everyone, artists and non-artists alike, are welcome. Throughout this session, participants will be guided to move in response to archival footage from Northern Ireland Screen’s Digital Film Archive. Numbers are limited, booking essential. Note: The gallery space is located on the ground floor. The workshop space is yet to be confirmed, but is likely to be on the first floor which is currently only accessible by stairs. The nearest car park is High Street.
Tonight 8
17:45
A Long Winter
A firm favourite of the festival team, Andrew Haigh returns with this patient, elegiac period piece based on the short story by Colm Toibin. When Mike returns to his family’s remote mountain home after time away, he finds an imbalance in the family dynamic. After his mother disappears, the remaining men in the household find themselves dominated by her absence, as Mike’s self-exploration mirrors his search for his missing mother.
18:00
Ken Russell's The Devils
Censored for more than half a century, Ken Russell’s visionary masterpiece returns to the big screen fully restored in 4K and cut to Russell’s direction - the first publicly released version of the film as intended by the filmmaker. An enduring masterpiece of cinema starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, Ken Russell’s The Devils is a prescient epic of obsession and corruption, and a defining work of art from a seminal filmmaker. Inspired by the true story of 17th-century priest Urbain Grandier, accused of bewitching a convent of nuns, the film lays bare the collusion of church and state through a searing vision of religious persecution, collective hysteria and institutional corruption. Unveiled at the 79th Cannes Film Festival, the definitive version arrives 55 years after the film’s original release. In addition to powerhouse performances from Reed and Redgrave, Ken Russell’s The Devils showcases the stunning work of artists at the peak of their craft. The 8.45pm screening on Fri 30 Oct will include an in-person introduction by Mark Kermode. Warning: The linked trailer contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.
19:00
Maddie’s Secret W/ Normal Cinema Club
Normal Cinema Club is excited to return to Belfast Film Festival with one of the funniest and most heartbreaking films of the year. Maddie Ralph works as a dishwasher at Gourmaybe, a test kitchen/content creation lab, though secretly she dreams of a life as a viral chef, creating reels and recipes for millions of adoring fans. Fortune shines fondly on Maddie and she skyrockets into fame, becoming one of the lab’s on-camera personalities. But soon the success turns sour, and the intense scrutiny that comes with a life lived online manipulates and tortures Maddie’s sense of self. Maddie’s Secret is many things at once: absurdist comedy, razor-sharp satire, deeply sincere melodrama, a love letter to American TV movies as much as John Waters as much as Douglas Sirk – John Early’s ability to walk this tightrope without one false note is what makes the film so singular. Furthermore, he writes, stars, produces and directs in what is sure to be one of the most egregious snubs of the Oscars race. Why? They hate true talent. The cast is rounded out by numerous shining stars: Kate Berlant, Eric Rahill and friend of the club, Conner O’Malley. Simply put, there’s no reason to miss one of the definitive films of our current age. TW: the film contains depictions of disordered eating, self-harm & suicide.
19:00
Our Share of Sand
When twelve year old Maya returns to rural India with her mother, she reconnects with her estranged father. When an accident at his sand mining business reveals inequalities between her family and the local community, Maya’s mother descends into angstridden guilt, while Maya decides to confront things her own way. A fantastic directorial debut, the film effectively portrays the adult world from the perspective of a child. Using the elemental backdrop of earth and water as its stylistic underpinning, this beautiful film flows steadily towards its gut-wrenching climax.
19:00
You’ll Never Believe Who’s Dead
It’s Christmas time, but the Cosgrove family aren’t having a very merry one. The family has fallen on tough times and jobs are hard to come by. After hearing about a robbery gone awry, they amuse themselves by imagining robbing one of the neighbours. Farmer Charlie Bann is bound to have money, sure, and he’d be an easy one to knock off, surely… Fuelled by Christmas spirit and desperation, the sons decide to follow through on their scheme, dragging the rest of the Cosgroves with them. Director Dallan Shovlin makes his feature debut with this delightfully dark comedy, smartly melding the thrilling mechanics of a heist film with a keen social sense of contemporary Ireland. The film never forgets the stark economic realities forcing the Cosgrove family into delinquency. The family is brought to life by an all-star cast of Irish talent, featuring Michelle Fairley and Ardal O’Hanlon as the matriarch and patriarch respectively, with Jacob McCarthy, Ruth Codd and Peter Claffey as their children. The elusive and reclusive Charlie Bann is portrayed by this year’s Réalta Award winner Stephen Rea.
20:30
Hollow Trees
In a post-apocalyptic world, a man and a young boy’s fragile means of surviving faces a new threat in the form of creatures capable of mimicking human sound. Their bond is further challenged by the arrival of a newcomer and the possibility of a better future. We follow their journey as they abandon the familiar; Tom Kerrisk expertly plays a hardened survivor and carer to a young boy played by Louis Kirwan, who brings a sense of real vulnerability to the role. It is an ambitious and at times truly unnerving work of filmmaking from promising young director Cathal Fitzpatrick. Through deft cinematography, the familiar Irish landscape is transformed into an uncanny space as trust, hope and the strength of chosen family are put to the test.
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.
20:45