Docs Ireland and Belfast Film Festival Programmer, Stuart Sloan, chooses the best political documentaries showing at Docs Ireland.

Stuart Sloan

The first all-Ireland documentary film festival, Docs Ireland, is taking place in Belfast from 12-16 June, with a fantastic and varied programme of some of the very best contemporary documentary films. There are films about sports, about music and, of course, about politics.

Documentaries have always been powerful political tools, with a unique ability to spread messages and tell stories, so ahead of the opening night, I’ve chosen five of the best political documentaries showing as part of the festival.

 

Gaza

Sunday 16 June | 6.45pm | Odeon Cinema

Docs Ireland will close with this elegantly shot and masterfully crafted portrait of Palestinian life. Frequently labelled as the world’s largest open-air prison, Gaza features on news reports every time a confrontation erupts between Israel and Hamas.

From TV sets thousands of miles away, this tiny piece of land has been reduced to an image of violence, chaos and destruction. What do the people who live there do when they’re not under siege?

This beautiful film offers a rare chance to be immersed in the heart of Gaza, as we glimpse behind the walls of this misunderstood land to get to know real people who inhabit it.

Gaza | Sunday 16 June | 6.45pm | Odeon Cinema

 

Meeting Gorbachev

Friday 14 June | 6.30pm | Queen’s Film Theatre

Werner Herzog and André Singer’s fascinating documentary is based on three long interviews between Herzog and, one of the world’s greatest living politicians, Mikhail Gorbachev.

The interviews give an incredible insight into the mind and motivations of the man who ended the cold war and who introduced policies of Glasnost (‘Openness’) and Perestroika (‘Restructuring’) that saw the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.

Through the use of unforgettable archive materials, we are given an amazing insight into a period of history where events moved so quickly that most people were left behind.

Meeting Gorbachev | Friday 14 June | 6.30pm | Queens Film Theatre

 

What is Democracy?

Sunday 16 June | 2pm | Queen’s Film Theatre

One of the most important and fundamental questions of our time. Director Astra Taylor asks the question through this distinctive, philosophical journey.

This film spans continents and millennia, from ancient Athens’ first experiment in self government to the modern-day United States, dealing with racism and economic inequality.

Featuring a diverse cast from celebrated theorists to trauma surgeons, from asylum seekers to former Prime Ministers, this urgent film connects the past and the present, the emotional and the intellectual, the personal and the political, in order to provoke and inspire.

What is Democracy? | Sunday 16 June | 2pm | Queens Film Theatre

 

The Silence of Others

Wednesday 12 June | 8.30pm | Queen’s Film Theatre

General Francisco Franco ruled Spain as a dictator from 1939 until 1975 and for many his name has become synonymous with the worst and most violent kind of tyranny.

After the transition to democracy, Spain imposed a state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity committed by the repressive regime.

The Silence of Others follows victims and survivors as they organise the ground-breaking “Argentine Lawsuit” to fight that amnesia in a country still divided four decades into democracy. It is a story that has great resonance with, and some similarities to, Ireland’s.

The Silence of Others | Wednesday 12 June | 8.30pm | Queens Film Theatre

 

Firing Line with William F Buckley: Bernadette Devlin

Friday 14 June | 4.30pm | Queen’s Film Theatre

‘Firing Line’ was the longest running public affairs show in history, hosted by the conservative public intellectual William F Buckley, in his trademark acerbic style.

The show, and others like it, focused on long-form conversations, where a small number of people were able to converse or argue, and complex ideas were allowed to form, full of context; free from soundbites.

In London, in 1972, Buckley hosted then MP and civil rights legend Bernadette Devlin. Their conversation burns with wit and bluster, as two people who fundamentally disagree discuss the ‘Irish Problem’.

Firing Line with William F Buckley: Bernadette Devlin | Friday 14 June | 4.30pm | Queens Film Theatre

 

Docs Ireland is all about celebrating documentary filmmaking and providing a platform for both national and international filmmakers.

The festival also has a fantastic range of events, including conversation events with Alex Gibney the director of No Stone Unturned and Margot Harkin, the Derry-born director known for 12 Days in July and Eamon McCann: A Long March. You can find the full programme here.