Premiers Boost Film Festival Success

International cinema as well as UK and local premiers are all featuring in this year's Jameson Belfast Film Festival, which is now well underway.

There are more than 130 screenings and special events from 30 countries, on offer during a 10-day cinematic extravaganza, ending on 4th April.

Premieres of first features Ditching, Pumpgirl, and Cherrybomb, are included with a 'Spotlight on India' section included, welcoming Adoor Gopalakrishnan - one of India's finest contemporary filmmakers - to the Irish city.

Sir Ben Kingsley has already introduced his new film Fifty Dead Men Walking and Rupert Grint (who plays the character of Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films), will attend the gala screening of Cherrybomb tonight.

A Co Down student, Bangor's Kat Kirk, (pictured here with Rupert), stars alongside the big screen star in Cherrybomb.

It has proved very popular, with the first showing tonight sold out, so that a second screening has had to be be arranged for Wednesday.

Cherrybomb is described as a hard-hitting look at a group of teenagers as they embark on a wild weekend of drink, drugs, shoplifting and stealing cars.

Kat, a Performing Arts student at the Bangor campus of the South Eastern Regional College, who plays the part of 15-year-old Sharon in the film, said: "Working in Cherrybomb has made me realise that it is film acting that I am mainly interested in. I really got a great buzz from immersing myself in the whole film thing.

"The buzz has really given me the drive to seek out more film work and we’ll see what happens from there."

(BMcC/JM)