15:15
Wednesday 4 November in Belfast
Belfast times. Last refreshed Fri 21:33.
Showing Film only.
Wednesday 4 November 13 listings
Afternoon 1
Tonight 12
18:00
Dry Leaf
Filmed entirely on a Sony Ericsson phone – yes, an old one – this is a stylistic exploration of the rich rural landscape of post-Soviet Georgia. Following the story of a man who is searching for his photographer daughter, this low-res film has a distinctly impressionistic aesthetic and painterly quality in the softly pixelated natural world it presents. As he searches for her by following her route in and around the abandoned football pitches she was photographing for a magazine spread, our eyes are opened to the methodical repetition of travel, the meditative and therapeutic connection we have to the world beyond our cities, and the road movie as a chance to slow down and take in the world in all its quiet wonder. This is simultaneously an impressive technical feat and a refreshing reversal of digital advancement, aspects that come together to press pause on the present-day world so it can be truly appreciated.
18:00
ni Independents: Sea of Glass, Bubble, Dark Disquiet
Sea of Glass – dir. Mervyn Marshall – 23 mins Julia, played with quiet precision by Rose Henderson, fills her days beach-combing, gathering treasures and adding them to her collection. However her mind is elsewhere as she stews over her seemingly strained relationship with her granddaughter. Her efforts to connect via calls and voice messages go unanswered, time passes and she falls further into solitude. This film expertly punctuates this journey with the changing of seasons, filmed across eight months, director Mervyn Marshall allows the changes in weather and light to demonstrate Julia’s isolation where she is seemingly suspended in place as the world changes around her. Filmed on location in Maghaberry Prison, Bubble focusses on three women who despite their differences in life experiences, find themselves incarcerated. Through the womens conversations we come to understand the difficulties of life both inside and outside prison walls. Inspired by the lived experience of women within the criminal justice system, it is a timely reflection on issues of domestic violence, addiction and trauma. Director Patricia Downeys 25 years of experience can be felt in this excellently crafted and insular production which allows the performances to shine as they range from moments of humour to intense vulnerability. A struggling mother, Abigail faces tragic consequences following a domestic row concerning her drinking, she is then sent on a voyage into mysterious realms in order to right the wrongs of her actions. Director Sohaib Syed artfully balances surreal moments with psychological tensions, grounding the film in themes of sacrifice, grief and relationship difficulties.
18:00
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.
18:15
NAZA
Shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv, NAZA reveals the systems behind Israel’s bombing of Gaza and its mass killing of Palestinian civilians. The film is directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four co-directors of the 2024 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. NAZA is titled for a military acronym euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians that it expects will be killed in an airstrike. The film builds on revelations first published by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine, Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, and the Guardian between 2023 and 2025. "The film lets us explore something deeper than we could in our investigative journalism alone: not only the words being said but also those that are not said, the silence. It is up to all of us to break that silence." Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
18:30
Skintown
Jack Rowan and Chris Walley give class A performances as Vinny and Jonty, two party-loving best friends in this energetic, warm-hearted comedy set against the backdrop of rural raves and marching bands in 1994’s Skintown (for outsiders: Enniskillen). Sacked from their dead-end job and dreaming of the wider world, when an opportunity presents itself in the form of a risky deal with two flute band members, the pair throw themselves into it, setting off an hilarious chain of events. Directed by Kieron J Walsh and adapted by Ciaran McMenamin from his novel of the same name, the film takes pleasure in referencing real-world people and places, with Portrush’s iconic Kelly’s featuring in a particularly laugh-out-loud scene. The film doesn’t shy away from the very real backdrop of the Troubles, but offers an optimistic take on the simple joys of partying with your pals. With heartfelt and humour-filled performances from a fantastic supporting cast including Michael Smiley, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Hope Ikpoku Jr, Martin McCann, Roisin Gallagher, Gerard Jordan, Tara-Lynne O’Neill and Lalor Roddy.
19:00
Acceptable Levels at Divis
Screening at St Comgall’s Ionad Eileen Howell, in the area where it was originally filmed, Acceptable Levels is the result of a collaboration between Kate McManus and Alistair Herron from the Belfast Film Workshop and John Davies, Ellin Hare, and Robert Smith from Frontroom Productions. The film was made through the innovative Channel 4 workshop scheme to fund small-scale independent productions and was the first feature film to be made under this arrangement. It was shot mainly in Belfast by Frontroom Productions and the Belfast Film Workshop using a cast of professional and non-professional actors. The film title comes from a comment made by British Home Secretary Reginald Maudling in the 1970s, that the best that could be hoped for was ‘a return to acceptable levels of violence.’ The film shows not only what this meant in practice to the community in Belfast, but also the media processes that made it acceptable to the British public. Filmmakers, John Davies, Alistair Herron and Kate McManus will take part in a Q&A after the film. This screening came about from a collaboration with the Recording History oral history project. Working with the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Ulster Museum and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), this research foregrounds the work of international artists and filmmakers active in the north of Ireland from 1968. Led by Dr Isobel Harbison, Recording History aims to address under-documented histories of artists’ and independent film made in Northern Ireland/ the north of Ireland from 1968 to 1990, and to consider these works in relation to existing national collections, facilities, and archives. The oral history interviews undertaken as part of the project will be preserved and made available at PRONI. This screening came about from a collaboration between the Belfast Film Festival, Falls Community Council, PRONI and the Recording History oral history project. This event will be live captioned.
19:00
Enjoy Your Stay
The experience of undocumented Filipino women in Europe is captured with urgency and humanity in this third feature by Swiss filmmaker, Dominik Locher. Together with Filipino screenwriter, Honeylyn Joy Alipio, they have crafted and captured the real-world dynamic between luxury Alpine resorts and the low-wage workers drafted in to keep them running. The story centres on Luz, who walks an emotional tightrope between the exploitative and illegal nature of her working life in Switzerland while feeling the pull of her young daughter still in the Philippines, and manipulative partner who is using a reality TV show to publicly shame her. The community of women workers around her offer comfort and complications, as she tries to climb the career ladder in a world filled with false promises and inequalities. This screening is subtitled and Relaxed (RS).
19:00
Learn to make a film in 12 weeks
Make an original short film in 12 weeks. Learn writing, directing, camera, lighting, sound and editing. Beginners welcome.
20:30
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.
20:30
Rozkvet
Set in occupied Czechoslovakia during WW2, Rozkvet shines a light on the lesser known story of women who stood as a backbone of the resistance against repressive powers. Featuring standout, often first-time performances from Romani actors, and co-created directly with people from the local Roma community, this feature debut from director Thomas Pollock gives voice to the Roma community as a testament to their survival, through a story that is often left out of historical retellings.
20:45
BFF: Coward
Another delicate two-hander about young men finding each other and exploring their sexuality from the master of elegant storytelling, Lukas Dhont ( Close ). This time a period piece set during the First World War, it follows the lives of two soldiers as they form a close bond while part of a theatre troupe entertaining their fellow comrades in the Belgian army. The stifling hierarchy and discipline of the army, homophobia and the horrors of war combine and pose the question, what is bravery and what is cowardice? Starring Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne as the two romantic leads, they jointly won the Best Actor award for the film’s tender and self-controlled performances at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Screening as part of Belfast Film Festival . Find out more about the festival programme here . Seating for Belfast Film Festival screenings is unallocated. If you have access requirements, please contact us on qftmanager@qub.ac.uk.
20:45