Puppet Tears (Short Film) ★★★★ Belfast Film Festival

163 seconds of fantastic work from Conor Lambert is all we get in Emma Brennan’s remarkable Puppet Tears. In less than three minutes, we can explore multiple themes with such wonderful deftness, a short that excites you for its future possibilities. A lonely puppeteer cares for his lonely puppet child,

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Postpartum (Short Film) ★★★★ Belfast Film Festival

Tania Notaro captures with overwhelming precision the fears and struggles women can face with motherhood in her second short, Postpartum. This film will strike a chord with many, a must-watch. Life takes a dark turn when a young woman, Mary (Tania Notaro), faces the realities of motherhood. Motherhood is one

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Hangnail (Short) ★★★ 1/2 Belfast Film Festival

Grace Connor’s Hangnail is a dream that quickly becomes a nightmare for our young protagonist. It is a strong cautionary tale that shows the daunting task some teenagers have in trying to find their place in society. Young and impressionable Erin (Mollie Milne) is dying for a peek into the

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Baby Steps (Short Film) ★★★★ Belfast Film Festival

A wonderful joy of a 9-minute short, Baby Steps takes us through the fears of going through a pregnancy. It is an entertaining and unexpectedly touching film; Hannah Mamalis has made a delightful gem. Em (Hannah Mamalis) is 7 months pregnant and feels no connection to the baby inside her.

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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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Sound and Colour (Short Film) ★★★★★ Belfast International Film Festival

Filmmaker Emma Foley barely gives her audience a second to breathe in the outstanding Sound and Colour. Alison Oliver shines as the future star that she is in this powerfully painful short film. Hannah (Alison Oliver) returns home to face her dysfunctional and emotionally repressed family after her attempted suicide, only to find her family avoiding

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Shee (Short Film) ★★★★ Belfast International Film Festival

A short film full of importance and compassion, Lia Campbell’s excellent Shee tells the tale of a same-sex couple stuck in an impossible quandary in a country that is all too willing to prosecute them for their relationship. Shee (Julia Wairimu Laval) and Magnus (Michelle Chebet Tiren) are a couple in a polyamorous relationship.

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