Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month

I Am Belfast
Mark Cousins’ dreamlike evocation of his home city discovers a capital of rich history and startling beauty.
Documentary 2015 84 mins
Director: Mark Cousins
Overview
Mark Cousins’ dreamlike evocation of his home city drives far beyond its overfamiliar political story to find a capital of rich history and startling beauty.
Our guide is not Cousins himself, but a 10,000-year-old lady who claims to be the spirit of the city itself, taking us on a journey through the city’s rich, complex and often tragic history. Cousins’ talent, in collaboration with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, is in finding visions of beauty amid the seemingly mundane, composing painterly pictures interspersed with film clips and archive footage. The evocative soundtrack by great Belfast DJ and film composer David Holmes (Ocean’s Eleven, Hunger, ‘71) mixed with Cousins’ poetical narration give the film its dreamlike quality. From wandering through the streets, meeting jaunty pensioners Rosie and Maud, to the horrors of the Troubles, I Am Belfast is an impassioned, politically engaged and inventive love letter from Cousins to his hometown.

Accessibility
Related
Documentary

A Deal With The Universe A Deal With The Universe
Documentary 2018 92 mins Director: Jason Barker
This extraordinarily intimate documentary from Jason Barker tells the inspiring tale of a very different kind of pregnancy.

Real Boy Real Boy
Documentary 2016 72 mins Director: Shaleece Haas
A 19-year-old trans man navigates family, friendships, and the challenges of young adulthood.

Who's Gonna Love Me Now? Who's Gonna Love Me Now?
Documentary 2016 86 mins Director: Tomer Heymann
A heartfelt exploration of one man’s struggle to reconcile with his Israeli family, while finding a new ‘family’ in London Gay Men’s Chorus.

Dressed as a Girl Dressed as a Girl
Documentary 2015 101 mins Director: Colin Rothbart
An in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at London’s finest drag performers. Warning: extreme use of make-up and glitter.

Chemsex Chemsex
Documentary 2015 80 mins Director: William Fairman
A hard-hitting and often graphic documentary about the 'chemsex' sub-scene in London’s gay community.

Are You Proud? Are You Proud?
Documentary 2018 96 mins Director: Ashley Joiner
Celebratory yet reflective documentary charting the LGBTQ+ movement's momentous journey towards equality.
British Cinema

London London
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1994 85 mins Director: Patrick Keiller
The first in Patrick Keiller’s highly imaginative trilogy of films is a photographic trip through London, recounted by our unseen narrator.

The Moon over the Alley The Moon over the Alley
Musical 1977 108 mins Director: Joseph Despins
The Moon Over the Alley is a bizarre and compelling musical exploring the problems of multicultural Notting Hill residents in the early 1970s.

Bread Bread
Drama 1971 68 mins Director: Stanley A. Long
A fun tale of hippies and rock and roll directed by the legendary Stanley Long and featuring cult British rock bands Juicy Lucy and Crazy Mabel.

Shell Shell
Drama 2012 87 mins Director: Scott Graham
In a remote part of Scotland, teenager Shell develops an intense relationship with her reclusive father.

My Brother the Devil My Brother the Devil
Drama 2012 107 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini
Sally El Hosaini's feature debut tells of the love and disenchantment of two British-Egyptian brothers. Gangs, drugs and sexuality come between them

Face Face
Crime 1997 101 mins Director: Antonia Bird
Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone are members of a criminal gang that tears itself apart after a heist goes wrong, in Antonia Bird’s stylish thriller.
New

The Way He Looks The Way He Looks
Drama 2014 92 mins Director: Daniel Ribeiro
A blind student’s relationship with his best friend is tested when he falls for the new boy in school, in Daniel Ribeiro’s beautifully realised romance.

Chico & Rita Chico & Rita
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2010 94 mins Director: Fernando Trueba
An evocative animated love story set in the jazz nightclubs of Havana and New York.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale
Fantasy 2010 83 mins Director: Jalmari Helander
Part children's adventure, part macabre seasonal shocker, this darkly humorous concoction defies categorisation.

Sebastiane Sebastiane
Historical drama 1976 85 mins Director: Paul Humfress
A distinctly bold and sensual reclaiming of gay history, Jarman here tells the sexually intense story of the 4th-century martyr.

The Wedding Party The Wedding Party
Comedy 1969 92 mins Director: Brian De Palma
Robert De Niro stars in the early, indie comedy from Brian De Palma, co-directed by Wilford Leach and Cynthia Munroe.

Greetings Greetings
Comedy 1968 87 mins Director: Brian De Palma
Robert De Niro stars in Brian De Palma's anti-war satire about three friends trying to avoid the Vietnam War draft.