We Gather (Short Film) ★★★★★ Belfast Film Festival

In his short film We Gather, Dominic Curran has captured the utter devastation of grief in such a beautifully wrenching manner. From top to bottom, this is a tremendous piece of short film cinema. A young man struggles with regret as the passage of time gives way to a flowing

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The Zone of Interest ★★★★★ Belfast Film Festival

Simply put, there is nothing like The Zone of Interest. Jonathan Glazer has created the most haunting, shattering, and breathless film in recent memory. Deliberately horrifying, this is cinema at its most impactful. The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for

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Nobody Has to Know ★★★ 3/4

Melancholic to a fault, Nobody Has to Know gives us a story that is morally wrong, but in the deep, dark recesses of our minds, we understand the motive. Tim Mielants and Bouli Lanners’s film soon becomes a film about identity. This gentle, touching film affects you far more than you’d expect. Phil (Bouli Lanners) is

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Satan Wants You ★★★★ Raindance 2023

Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams’ fascinating Satan Wants You takes a deep dive into the origins and legacy of the infamous book Michelle Remembers. Their film is a potent time capsule of a moment that rings far too close to ours now, an engrossing watch. Digging deep into the

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The Land Within ★★★ 1/2 Raindance 2023

Fisnik Maxville’s debut feature, The Land Within, is a strong outing that is an emotionally heavy glance at the damaging legacy war brings to younger generations. Luàna Bajrami and Florist Bajgora shine in this visually impressive film. After years of exile, Remo, an orphan, returns to his childhood village in the

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Queer East Festival 2023 announces nationwide tour for October – December

Queer East Festival 2023 nationwide tour takes place October to December in Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Belfast, Edinburgh, Leeds and more cities to be announced Now in its fourth year, Queer East will return to cinemas around the UK in 2023 with another exciting nationwide tour which presents contemporary feature

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For Heidi ★★★★ Bolton International Film Festival

For Heidi is one of those touching, gentle dramas that simultaneously makes you smile and well up due to the performances. Lucy Campbell has created a beautifully stirring short film. Thirteen-year-old Heidi is sent home from school for breaking the rules with a giant blue and black mohawk. Lucy Campbell

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Everybody Dies… Sometimes ★★★ 3/4 Bolton International Film Festival

Everybody Dies… Sometimes is a great dark comedy from Charlotte Hamblin that focuses on the fears we all have about death. Hamblin’s film leaves a strong impression on you; with her being a filmmaker, we need to see more of. Mara has a problem, a pretty serious one, really. People around her

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Distressing Images ★★★ 3/4 Bolton International Film Festival

Samuel Dawes excellent short Distressing Images is a fascinating showcase of how paranoia can ruin a relationship with your partner and your entire family. The absorbing film puts a parent’s worst fears into the world about their child. A content moderator for a social media site begins to suspect his

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Cadáver ★★★ 3/4 Bolton International Film Festival

Cadáver is a moving documentary about an undertaker repatriating the bodies of people who died trying to reach Europe. A short filled with compassion and attentiveness, Benjamin Kodboel’s film greatly affects you. Martín Zamora has been managing a mortuary in Algeciras, Spain, since ’98. He collects the bodies of people

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