Co-founded in 1995 by Michele Devlin and writer Laurence McKeown, the festival began as a part of Féile an Phobail, and operated as the West Belfast Film Festival (WBFF) from 1995 to 2000.^[1] In its third and fourth years, WBFF ran as an independent event and included venues throughout the city. In the year 2000 it became the Belfast Film Festival and expanded into a citywide event. In 2003, the line-up grew to 70 films.^[2][3]

On April 17, 2004, the North Street Arcade suffered a huge fire that completely the internal part of the building.^[4] Despite losing their base and all their records, the festival recovered, relocated to Donegall St, and staged the event again the following year. The 2005 festival was launched by award-winning actor Stephen Rea.^[5]

In 2010, the festival raised a record of £230,000 ($346,000).^[1] By 2016, the festival expanded to a total of 133 films from 30 countries,^[6] while the 2018 edition spread to 22 locations and featured 178 films.^[7]

In 2022, the festival launched an International Competition for first or second features, sponsored by several organizations, notably Greg Darby’s Yellow Moon.^[8] Best Film award goes with a £7,000 monetary prize, while £1,500 are given with Jury Prizes for Outstanding Craft Contribution and Breakout Performance.^[9] BFF screens feature and short films, documentaries, host retrospectives as well as world premieres.^[10][11][12]

As of 2023, the team includes: International Programmer Jess Kiang, UK and Ireland Programmer Rose Baker, Head of Industry and Marketplace Roisin Geraghty, Chair Mark Cousins, and others.^[13][7] BFF's patrons are: Terry George, David Holmes, Pat Murphy, William Crawley, and Stephen Rea.^[14][15]

Belfast Film Festival is sponsored by NI Department for Communities, Arts Council NI, Film Hub NI, Yellow Moon, British Council, Belfast City Council, Northern Ireland Screen and the British Film Institute.^[16][8]

Site-specific screenings are a signature part of the festival. Through the years, the management team strived to include people and the fabric of the city in the program.^[17]They have screened films in used and disused swimming pools, on a boat in the River Lagan, with live piano accompaniment in St Anne's Cathedral (16mm original version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Carol Reed's Odd Man Out beside the Albert Clock, which featured heavily in the film.^[18] BFF hosted screenings at unique architectural sites, including the US political drama The West Wing at Parliament Buildings, Stormont, Oh, Mr Porter! at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra, The Warriors in a dystopian landscape beneath a city center motorway flyover, and Stanley Kubrick's cult sci-fi epic 2001: A Space Odyssey in the historic dry dock in the city's old shipyards where the RMS Titanic last sat on dry ground.^[19][20] The 2017 screenings of The Exorcist and The Omen were made in the former Holy Rosary Church on the Ormeau Road in south Belfast, which was deconsecrated for almost 40 years. Still, some criticized the choice of the location as insensitive and disrespectful.^[21]

In partnership with Belfast One, BFF hosts Belfast Summer Cinema, a 2-days event hosted in the City Hall.^[22][23][24] In 2018, it also launched Pull Focus, a two-day summer festival of Irish documentary.^[25]

Music has also featured strongly in BFF's programming; some highlights include the collaborations with local talents such as Duke Special and David Holmes on audiovisual performances,^[26] hosting the Italian progressive rock band Simonetti’s Goblin to perform a live score to Dawn of the Dead; and many more.^[27]

Additionally, every year the festival hosts various special events.^[28] Belfast Film Festival also sponsors year-round film screenings around Belfast.^[29]

In 2019, the documentary section was separated into an independent festival, Docs Ireland. It is operated by the same team, but has its own program, industry section, etc.^[3] The festival's industry section, the marketplace, spans for two days and offers filmmakers the possibility to pitch their projects, meet sponsors, distributors and exhibitors.^[16][30] Other sections are: Pull Focus Irish Documentary Competition, Irish Shorts Programmes, New International Documentary, and Back to the Archive.^[31]

Short Film Competition edit

Maysles Brothers Documentary Competition (part of Docs Ireland international documentary festival since 2019) edit

Audience Award edit

Short Documentary Competition (part of Docs Ireland international documentary festival since 2019) edit

Réalta Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema edit

Lifetime Achievement Award edit

• Féile an Phobail
• Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival
• Queen's Film Theatre
• Belfast Festival at Queen's