The Flats
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The residents of a Belfast housing estate grapple with the unresolved legacy of the Troubles by staging re-enactments, in this critically acclaimed major-prize winner at CPH:DOX 2024.
New Lodge, a Republican enclave in West Belfast, is home to self-described “ordinary decent criminal” Joe McNally and his dog Freedom. It’s a community troubled by memories of violence and lives lost, now besieged by sexual assault and drug abuse. As a way of reconciling with the past, Joe decides to re-enact his young uncle’s wake. In a scene reminiscent of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing (SFF 2013), Joe manhandles a coffin into his cramped flat, then convinces others to participate in his macabre project – and re-enact their collective memories. The Flats lays bare a complex, brutal legacy with forensic precision.
Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.Special Guest
Alessandra Celesia
Director, Screenwriter
Alessandra Celesia is an Italian-born filmmaker currently based in Paris and Belfast. Her sophomore film The Bookseller of Belfast (2011) was co-produced by ARTE France and was screened at Visions du Reel in Lussa. Following this, she continued co-producing films with ARTE France with Anatomia del Miracolo, which was selected at Locarno in 2017.
- Program Strand
- International Documentaries
- Year
- 2024
- Classification
- Unclassified 18+
- Country
- France, Belgium, UK, Ireland
- Language
- In English and Irish with English subtitles
- Director
- Alessandra Celesia
- Producer
- Geneviève De Bauw, Jean-Laurent Csinidis, John McIlduff, Jeremiah Cullinane
- Screenwriter
- Alessandra Celesia
- Cinematographer
- François Chambe
- Editor
- Frédéric Fichefet
- Premiere
- Australian Premiere
- Genre
- Documentary, Women Directors, Festival Award Winners, Filmmaking
- Company Credits
- Sales Agent: The Party Sales
- Official Website
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