The Belfast Film Festival originated as part of Féile an Phobail and within a short timeframe, it built quickly upon its early successes to become an autonomous citywide event in 1999. The Festival’s activities are entertaining and provocative, and in many instances provide an important platform for debate across the religious, social and cultural divides in Northern Ireland.
The presentation of innovative ways to screen film is one of the festival’s specialities; films can be viewed on a boat in the River Lagan, with live piano accompaniment in St Anne’s Cathedral, collaborating with local talent such as Duke Special and David Holmes on audio visual performances and profiling unique architectural sites such as a screening of an episode of the TV series The Prisoner in Church of Christ Scientist, Church in Belfast.
The Festival promotes film education and practical filmmaking skills and has attracted film industry guests such as Martin Sheen, Tom Berenger, Brid Brennan, Jimmy McGovern, Jim Sheridan, Crispin Glover, Bernard Hill, Kim Longinotto, John Lynch, Seamus Mc Garvey, Brendan Gunn, Julie Christie and many others.
The Festival showcases both local talent, and the best in new International cinema. Its documentary film competition, The Maysles Brothers Award was launched by documentary legend Albert Maysles in 2006, and its aim is to celebrate the best of new observational documentary work from around the world. The short film competition provides a platform for fledgling film-makers from across the island of Ireland.
