The Dark Hedges International Film Festival returns to Belfast for its fourth year with a jam-packed programme running both physically and digitally from the 25th to the 31st of October.
The festival continues to showcase an eclectic mix of cult classics alongside new movies and shorts made by filmmakers from around the world.
There’ll be 15 screenings during the festival’s six days at four different venues across the city.
I’m really excited about our 2023 line-up, It’s our biggest ever programme yet!
JIm McClean – Lead Programmer Dark Hedges International Film Festival
As always, I’d like to thank everyone who made this year’s programme happen, particularly our fantastic team who’ve kept it all going, the venues who continue to support us and the filmmakers who submitted their work
I’d also like to thank the artists who helped us with artwork (Chris Ellis/ Ben Collopy) and Jim McMorrow who created the festival’s trailer
Full Lineup
Opening Night
Everything kicks off on Wednesday 25th October at The Belfast Barge with an Evil Dead double bill
The festival is screening two films within the original trilogy, first up is Evil Dead 2 (1987) and Army of Darkness (1991).
Anyone who books a ticket for this screening will receive a print specially commissioned for the event by the festival’s frequent collaborator Chris Ellis (Ellistration).
New Cinema
Last year was the inaugural year of our best feature completion and for our 2023 programme we’ve served up five movies from the Republic of Ireland, America and Australia
All these screenings take place throughout the day on Saturday 28th October at the Beanbag Cinema, starting with Chad Ferrin’s H.P. Lovecraft inspired, The Old Ones, a spiritual sequel to the director’s The Deep Ones, which previously screened at the festival in 2020.
In Joshua Morris’ Bliss of Evil, a sound engineer is forced to confront her trauma when she and her girlfriend’s grunge band are trapped in a recording studio by a shadowy killer.
Levi Austin Morris’ Paranormal Chiller PARALYSIS sees a woman suffering from sleep paralysis discover her demons may be connected to a family secret.
Our five finalists are completed by two Irish Features, Luke De Brún’s Idiot Boy, shot entirely on VHS and Hi8 tapes, the film sees the residents of a small, decrepit town come to terms with the disappearance of a young girl. When a young man takes up the search, he discovers some dark secrets in the place he calls home.
And in Gary Walsh’s Bad Things in the Middle of Nowhere, a group of criminals lay low in the remote Irish countryside after pulling off an audacious robbery. As they plan their escape, they quickly realise the robbery will be the last thing to go right for them.
Cult Classics
As always this year’s programme includes a number of cult classics. The festival has partnered with the Strand Arts Centre for a screening of The Lost Boys (27 October) and an autism friendly screening of Hocus Pocus at the Strand (28 October).
On Saturday the 28 October they’ll mark the death of Michael Parkinson with a special screening of Leslie Manning’s Ghostwatch .
On Sunday (29 October) they’ll be at the Strand, as Ghostbusters Ireland host a screening of Ivan Reitman’s 1984 feature for Charity, that will be followed by a screening of The Invisible Man (1933) to celebrate the film’s 90th anniversary. Victoria will also introduce a screening of Black Narcissus as part of the BFI’s Powell and Pressburger season.
The festival’s cult classic strand concludes as they partner with The Readers in the Rue Morgue Belfast Book Club for a screening of Francs Ford Coppola’s Dementia 13 at the Sunflower (31 October).
Short Films
The festival remains committed to its short film programme with screenings at the Strand for finalists within both the Irish and International categories of their Short Film Competition (Both on Saturday 28 October).
The festival’s digital player will also showcase 20 shorts from their Irish and International submissions within its Official Selection category. These shorts will be available to watch throughout the duration of the festival’s programme.
Pub Quiz
This year’s festival will also the team hosting their first ever pub quiz!
There’ll be eight fiendish rounds for horror movie fans to test their knowledge at the Sunflower (30 October).
Lcal cosplayer Joanne Alexander (Hedgescout) will be on compare duties throughout the evening.
