NI Films To Be Screened At London Festival

Two films produced in Northern Ireland have been selected for recognition at a London film festival.

One of the projects, Lost Lives, is a cinematic homage to those who died during the Troubles and features a host of local actors and a score performed by the Ulster Orchestra.

Both features will be showcased at the BFI London Film Festival next month. Based on the book of the same name, Lost Lives will screen on 10 and 11 October, while Ordinary Love will be showcased on 12 and 13.

Ordinary Love, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this week, stars Academy Award nominees Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson as an everyday couple with an extraordinary love, who must find the humour and grace to face a year of adversity.

Joan (Manville) and Tom (Neeson) have been married for many years. There is an ease to their relationship which only comes from spending a lifetime together and a depth of love which expresses itself through tenderness and humour in equal part. When Joan is unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer, the course of her treatment shines a light on their relationship as they are faced with the challenges that lie ahead and the prospect of what might happen if something were to happen to Joan.

A story of love, survival and the epic questions life throws at each and every one of us, Ordinary Love was written by award-winning Irish playwright Owen McCafferty and is a Canderblinks Films and Out of Orbit production.

Ballymena man Liam Neeson also features in Lost Lives, a heartfelt documentary by DoubleBand Films which records every single death and its circumstances since the beginning of Northern Ireland's conflict.

Powerfully narrated by famous Irish and Northern Irish actors, including Kenneth Branagh, Brendan Gleeson, Roma Downey, Liam Neeson, Bríd Brennan and Stephen Rea, the film weaves archive footage with recordings of family and friends responding to the devastating news of the death of loved ones. A score performed by the Ulster Orchestra and striking cinematography complete this elegiac piece. Lost Lives is a BBC Northern Ireland commission made by Doubleband Films.

Tickets are on sale for both screenings, with details below:

Lost Lives

• Thursday 10 October, 8.45pm, the Curzon Mayfair Cinema (Screen 1)

• Friday 11 October, 12.45pm, the Vue West End (Screen 4)

Ordinary Love

• Saturday 12 October, 5.30pm, the Curzon Mayfair Cinema (Screen 1)

• Sunday 13 October, 12.30pm, the Vue West End (Screen 7)



(JG/CM)