6 PICKS FOR QFT 50
In amongst the screenings, talks, exhibitions and star studded galas, we’ve picked out 6 events that are worth looking below the radar for in the month of October.
Running from the 5th to the 31st October, QFT 50 not only celebrates the success of the Queen’s Film Theatre from 1968 onwards, but also the role of the QFT in bringing to Belfast films that may not have ever reached these shores, without the QFT’s commitment to showing Belfast audiences the widest possible choice of the best that world cinema can bring.
The QFT 50 programme brings early showings of some amazing and much anticipated works such as Damon Chazelle’s First Man, Mike Leigh’s Peterloo and Steve McQueen’s Widows but also the lesser known work which allow audiences a window on to lesser known worlds. A full programme of talks explore and interrogate both the history of cinema in NI, and also the role of film in our society.
50 YEARS OF QUEEN'S FILM THEATRE
Showing: 06 October 2018
We’ve been working with Sam Manning from QUB to help explore the role that QFT has played in promoting and valuing independent cinema in Belfast for the last 50 years. His illustrated talk will take a role through the detail and minutiae of QFT life since 1968, highlighting the films, people and culture that has allowed the QFT to survive and thrive.
https://www.filmhubni.org/now-showing/903-2/
A-Z OF BELFAST CINEMAS
Showing: 07 October 2018
‘Was the golden age really in the past or are we, in fact, living in it now?’ asks Brian Henry Martin. So why not come along and share your memories and take the ultimate cinematic trip?
A topic dear to our hearts as filmmaker Brian Henry Martin takes us on an alphabetical odyssey through the rise, fall and rise again of Belfast cinema. A hit at Cinema Day 2016, we’re delighted that Brian is bringing his entertaining trip down the year to QFT 50.
https://www.filmhubni.org/now-showing/a-z-of-belfast-cinemas-talk/
A NORTHERN SOUL
Showing: 08 October 2018
A Northern Soul glimpses Hull as it transforms into the City of Culture 2017 and its people hoping for change.
Made by acclaimed director and Hull man Sean McAllister (A Syrian Love Story), the documentary is an intimate look at ongoing urban regeneration through the eyes of those experiencing it.
McAllister focusses on Steve Arnott, a Hull local following his dream to bring hip-hop to the city’s youth by providing accessible recording equipment and confidence-building workshops to primary schools across the city. Whilst giving some of Hull’s most disadvantaged kids opportunities he never had, Steve must continue with the daily grind of working in a warehouse to provide for his family.
Director Sean McAllister and protagonist Steve Arnott will be at QFT for a Q&A following the screening. A Northern Soul was supported by the BFI Film Fund.
https://www.filmhubni.org/now-showing/a-northern-soul-w-qa/
STORIES FROM THE TROUBLES
Showing: 08 October 2018
The rise and rise of documentary making in and about Northern Ireland has been astonishing in the last number of years. Cahal McLaughlin, Professor of Film Studies at Queen's University Belfast and director of the Prisons Memory Archive will look at why these films have engaged audiences so fully, and whether they are taking the place of a more formal process of reflection on the legacy of the Troubles.
POSSUM
Showing: 12 October 2018
For fans of British horror, we welcome the debut feature from Matthew Holness (Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace). Together with Possum, a hideous hand-puppet, disgraced puppeteer Philip (Sean Harris) returns to his childhood home. Staying with his malicious stepfather, Maurice (Alun Armstrong), Philip soon discovers that ridding himself of Possum is no easy task. When his attempts to destroy the demonic puppet fail, Philip suspects Maurice of manipulating Possum to cause him further distress. As their relationship deteriorates, repressed memories of a traumatic childhood start to resurface. When a local child goes missing and the police suspect him of the crimes, Philip is forced to confront the nightmares of his past and discovers that the real demon lurks much closer to home.
Writer/director Matthew Holness will be in attendance for a Q&A following this preview screening. Possum was supported by the BFI Film Fund.
https://www.filmhubni.org/now-showing/possum-exclusive-preview/
BLOODYMINDED
Showing: 14 October 2018
Part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, Bloodyminded is the UK's first interactive live streamed feature film, shot in a single take and broadcast to cinemas and online, once and once only. Guided by the narrator, we are asked to consider our own relationship with violence, as individuals and as members of a society that continues to wage wars on our behalf.
This is the UK’s first interactive live streamed feature film, shot in a single take and broadcast to cinemas and online - once and once only. A cinematic occasion if ever there was one.
https://www.filmhubni.org/now-showing/bloodyminded-interactive-event/