The 10th Belfast Film Festival fired up yesterday and continues until April 30th. The opening film was Danis Tanovic's Triage, in which Colin Farrell stars as a traumatised photojournalist. Fear not if you weren't near the red carpet. The picture plays again on Sunday at Moviehouse on the Dublin Road.
Other Irish releases on show include Conor McPherson's The Eclipseand an intriguing new film from Tom Magill, Mickey B. Magill's low-budget feature casts inmates of Maghaberry Prison in a radically reimagined version of Macbeth. Also keep an eye open for Ger Leonard's 5 Say Shelter, which, according to the programme, focuses on "the beauty and poetry in and around us that can lift us out of our despair and suffering". Ambitious stuff.
If you want something a little more escapist, scurry along to one of the classic musicals that have been unearthed for the big screen. Kiss Me Kate, High Societyand – far too rarely seen – Jacques Demy's gorgeous Les Demoiselles de Rochefortwill screen at the Strand Cinema.
Festival guests include veteran director and cinematographer Haskell Wexler, a two-time Oscar winner. And you can enjoy an evening dedicated to John Hughes's Pretty in Pink. But what of the annual World Pong Championship? Relax. The festival will, yet again, host the world's greatest players of that antique video game.
The festival runs from April 15th to 30th. See belfastfilmfestival.org
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