It’s the best time of the year again. Yes folks, the Belfast Film Festival is back! Returning for its 26th edition, this year’s festival will run for ten days, from October 29th to November 7th in venues across the city. The programme is packed with new cinema, international features, short films, special guests and plenty of local talent, both in front of and behind the camera. Hokum (2026) filmmaker Damian McCarthy is even stopping by to give a directing masterclass!
It’s impossible to see everything (though that won’t stop us trying!), so where is best to start? Well, with films from over thirty countries included in this year’s programme, audiences are truly spoilt for choice, but here are five film recommendations that we think should be on everybody’s festival watchlist.
Wild Horse Nine
Friday 30th October // 6:00pm @ Queen’s Film Theatre
For his latest film, Wild Horse Nine, British-Irish writer-director Martin McDonagh is reuniting with frequent collaborator and — thanks to his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) — Oscar-winner, Sam Rockwell. He’s also welcoming a much-sought-after addition to his cast in the form of industry veteran John Malkovich. Having almost worked with him twice before, on play A Behanding in Spokane (2010) and Seven Psychopaths (2012), it’s a cinematic combination that’s quite literally been years in the making.
The film sees Rockwell and Malkovich play CIA agents dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup d’état. Both his debut, In Bruges (2008), and, more recently, The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), prove just how well-versed McDonagh is at delivering darkly comic two-handers. And whilst there’s no donkey this time around (love you Jenny), the comedic pairing of Rockwell and Malkovich is promise aplenty of a good time.
A Long Winter
Tuesday 3rd November // 5:45pm @ Queen’s Film Theatre
After blessing us with the modern queer classic, Weekend (2011) — which played the festival in the year of its release — frankly, any new Andrew Haigh film feels like essential viewing. His subsequent films have appeared in the festival line-ups over the years too, with his romantic fantasy All of Us Strangers (2023) even serving as the opening-night gala for the festival’s 23rd edition.
A firm Belfast favourite, then, Haigh is back with his latest title, A Long Winter. Based on a short story by Colm Tóibín, the film stars Fred Hechinger, Kit Connor and Irish talent Caitríona Balfe. Set in the early 1950s, it follows a family in the secluded Colorado Rockies as they prepare for the unforgiving shift in seasons — a premise that sounds perfectly positioned to facilitate Haigh’s keen eye for capturing the most intimate details of human connection.
Skintown
Wednesday 4th November // 6:30pm @ Cineworld Belfast
As always, the festival programme is packed with a wide variety of titles set and/or filmed locally, offering Irish audiences a chance to see their own towns and cities up on the big screen. Lost City, You’ll Never Believe Who’s Dead and Our House all fall into this exciting category, but it’s Kieron J. Walsh’s Skintown that might just prove to be the biggest crowd-pleaser of them all.
Adapted from the 2018 novel by Ciaran McMenamin — perhaps better known to Hope Street viewers as Port Devine’s very own Inspector Finn O’Hare — this Enniskillen ’90s-set comedy follows two ravers caught up in a risky deal with some band members. Its setting and premise alone are enough to entice, while a supporting cast that includes homegrown talents Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Martin McCann and Michael Smiley makes it a real festival must-see.
Coward
Wednesday 4 November // 8:45pm @ Queen’s Film Theatre
Not only is the festival screening films from right on our doorstep, but it’s also providing a wealth of interesting international titles — many of which are being shown months ahead of their general release dates. One of particular note is Lukas Dhont’s WWI drama Coward. The Belgian filmmaker is probably best known for his devastating, Cannes Grand Prix-winning drama Close (2022), and after such a sensitive and heartbreaking tale of young queer love, any follow-up from him would, of course, arrive with much anticipation.
His latest follows two soldiers in a theatre troupe who become close while trying to keep spirits high among their fellow countrymen in the Belgian army. Having already found further success at Cannes this year — a joint acting win for the film’s leads, Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne — Coward is enjoying a strong festival run. Set for release early next year, this is the perfect chance to see what could be a big awards contender that little bit earlier.
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Saturday 7th November // 7:00pm @ Cineworld Belfast
There are several book-to-film adaptations in this year’s festival line-up, but it’s Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning — the closing night film — that feels particularly poised to steal the show. First published in February 2024, Keiran Goddard’s novel of the same name was met with high praise, welcoming a swift turnaround from page to screen, with its Irish premiere fast approaching.
The film follows a group of childhood friends in Birmingham who reflect on their lives amid the UK housing crisis. The book shifts perspective between the group’s members, so it will be interesting to see whether Barnard handles the characters in a similar fashion. With Anthony Boyle and Lola Petticrew among the main cast too, it’s another opportunity to see some local favourites on the big screen — and hopefully, finish the festival on a high.
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