Belfast Film Festival 2026

The Belfast Film Festival returns for its 26th edition, running from Thursday 29 October to Sunday 8 November 2026. It's a big one this year, with films from 30 countries coming to the city, so you'll be hopping between venues rather than staying in one spot. Queen's Film Theatre is the main hub, but the programme spreads across a dozen sites: Cineworld, ODEON Belfast, The Avenue, Black Box, Beanbag Cinema, Ulster University, PS Squared, St. Comgall's, Writer's Square and The Masonic Screen.

Opening and closing night screenings are Lost City by Seán Murray and I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Clio Barnard. The New Cinema strand brings Rose, A Long Winter and Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine. Homegrown titles include Skintown by Kieron J Walsh, which took the Sean Connery Prize at Edinburgh, alongside Faraway Home by Terry Loane and Our House by Peter Young. There's also a Directorial Masterclass with Damian Mccarthy.

The festival is split into strands, so you can pick your own path. Special Screenings & Events and Oh The Horror! cover the more curated and genre-leaning slots, while Film & Anti-Racism looks at cinema through a political lens. There's a Short Film Competition, New Irish Shorts, NI Independents, an XR Festival, and Altered States and Experimental Shorts for the more avant-garde stuff. A Student Archive Showcase and the masterclass round things out.

Running through the Réalta Award, which honours screen figures who use their craft for the greater good, this year's recipient is Stephen Rea. With films from 30 countries and a dozen venues across Belfast, it's a good ten days of cinema to work your way through. The festival kicks off on Thursday 29 October and runs until Sunday 8 November.