From outdoor picnic screenings to a Georgian mansion and a splendid Victorian hall, Belfast Film Festival promises a summer of unique and unforgettable experiences in parks and buildings throughout the city.
The public and visitors are promised they will experience the romance and adventures of all-singing, all-dancing high school kids in 'Grease'. Sing-a-long to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s cinematic treasure, 'The Sound of Music'. Fall in love with dance instructor Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing. And find out how a very ordinary man is mistaken for the promised messiah in Monty Python’s 'Life of Brian.'
Belfast Film Festival, in partnership with Film Hub NI and BFI Film Audience Network, is taking part in BFI Shakespeare on Film – a spectacular UK-wide series of screenings and events celebrating the enormous impact the playwright’s life, work and legacy has had on cinema.
Franco Zeffirelli’s acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless love story, 'Romeo and Juliet', was nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award in 1967. When the now famous “star-crossed lovers” of two enemy families meet, forbidden love ensues.
Orson Welles is at the height of his both his acting and directorial powers while reveling in the poetic force of Falstaff’s weakness in 'Chimes at Midnight'.
Kenneth Branagh’s love for the material is contagious in his exuberant adaptation of 'Much Ado About Nothing', a spirited, winningly acted rendition of one of the Bard’s most popular comedies.
And 'Kiss Me Kate' is a lush MGM musical in glorious Technicolor starring Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson. Inspired by 'The Taming of the Shrew', Cole Porter adds the songs to Shakespeare’s witty words about a pair of feuding divorced actors who must share the stage in a new Broadway-bound musical.
The grounds of Malone House, a late Georgian mansion which dates from the 1820s, provides the perfect backdrop for an outdoor screening of 'Sense and Sensibility' (21st August). Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant star in this captivating romantic comedy based on Jane Austen’s classic novel.
If people prefer not to tempt fate with Belfast’s summer weather, there are plenty of indoor events to suit every film lover.
You can view the full summer programme at www.belfastfilmfestival.org
