Queen's Film Theatre
 QFT logo | |
| Address | 20 University Square Belfast Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Owner | Queen's University Belfast |
| Type | Art house; Indie; World Cinema |
| Capacity | Screen 1: 217 Screen 2: 91 |
| Opened | 1968 |
| Website | |
| www.queensfilmtheatre.com | |
The Queen's Film Theatre or QFT is a small independent cinema at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland that was founded in 1968. When first opened, the QFT focused mainly on art house, indie and world cinema, playing an important role in the cultural life of Belfast, serving as an important venue for events such as the Belfast Festival at Queen's, the Belfast Film Festival and the CineMagic Festival.
The QFT is located on University Square and sharsz the building with the Brian Friel Theatre used for student drama teaching, rehearsals and performances and was opened in February 2009.[1]
The cinema has two screens with 217 and 91 seats respectively and is also the only cinema in Northern Ireland to have a licensed bar.
The QFT is part of the Europa Cinemas network containing more than 1,000 cinemas in 60 countries.
History
QFT was the brainchild of Michael Emmerson who, in 1967, as creator of the Belfast Festival (later Belfast Festival at Queen's) wanted a cultural cinema, partly to expand the range of festival events and partly to preserve a public awareness of the Festival throughout the year.
He had been aware of the newly created Regional Film Theatres in Brighton and Newcastle upon Tyne and successfully persuaded the University to modify a newly built lecture theatre in University Square Mews into a 250 seat cinema. QFT opened on 16 October 1968 with a presentation of 'Viva Maria'.
Contrary to assertions elsewhere, the only relevance of the University's large and successful Film Society to QFT's creation were the employment of the Film Society's projectionists, and the argument that Emmerson made that it (the Film Society) demonstrated that there was a demand for 'art cinema'.
The 'old' QFT was fairly uncomfortable as it was designed for undergraduate lectures. Following a period of relative financial success in 1985, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland funded a refurbishment providing new and very comfortable seating which was installed on 31 March 1986.
QFT, like most independent cinemas, faced financial difficulties for much of its early years, with one short closure in 1972. However following that closure it constructed a programming structure appropriate to the local demographic and largely managed to remain viable until a major investment in the facility by the University in 2003/4 which integrated it, technically, with the newly formed Drama and Film Studies departments.
The cinema is currently funded through a number of sources, including ticket sales; grants from the University, Belfast City Council and Northern Ireland Screen; private donations; as well as a number of commercial sponsors. In 1996 it presented a celebrated season of classic cinema to celebrate the Centenary of Cinema.
Michael Open was the cinema's director from 1969 until 2004, except for a three-year period during the mid-1970s when it was run by Robert Caldicott.
The Queen's Film Theatre currently forms part of the Culture and Arts Unit at the University which also includes the Naughton Gallery at Queen's.
External links
- Official Website
- Europa Cinemas
- History of Cinemas in Belfast
References
^ Queen's University Belfast. "Brian Friel Centre for Theatre Research". Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
Coordinates: 54°35′06″N 5°56′02″W / 54.585°N 5.934°W / 54.585; -5.934
