It Used to be Witches: Under the Spell of Queer Cinema + Appropriate Behaviour

Film critic Ryan Gilbey presents It Used to Be Witches, his new book mapping a non-linear path through queer cinema history, in a special in conversation with Cian Smyth. Followed by a screening of Appropriate Behaviour.

It Used to Be Witches is a playful blend of memoir, criticism and candid interviews with filmmakers from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum. Andrew Haigh, Cheryl Dunye and Isabel Sandoval are among the directors who reveal how queer artists use film to express personal truths—and to challenge a world that would rather they didn’t exist.

Gilbey asks whether cinema can be an effective weapon of resistance and celebrates an outlaw spirit which refuses to die.

After the talk, Gilbey will introduce a screening of Appropriate Behaviour (2015). Writer-director-actress Desiree Akhavan’s debut is a witty, Iranian, hipster date movie. After her girlfriend dumps her, Shirin (Akhavan) scrambles to hold her life together in modern-day Brooklyn.

This event is part of the Belfast International Arts Festival, taking place throughout Belfast from 14 Oct - 9 Nov 2025.

You may also like the following events from Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast:

• This Wednesday, 13th August, 06:00 pm, David Lynch: Lost Highway in Belfast
• This Thursday, 14th August, 06:00 pm, Amour in Belfast
• This Friday, 15th August, 08:45 pm, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai in Belfast

Also check out other Arts events in Belfast, Entertainment events in Belfast, Festivals in Belfast.