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The Belfast Film Festival has announced it will hold a series of free online events in April, despite rescheduling the main festival until the Autumn.

A selection of streamlined events will be available free for the audience, including legendary film producer Jeremy Thomas in conversation with film scholar Mark Cousins. The ​deadline to submit questions for this event is Friday April 3rd.

There will be other online treats, which were originally part of the official BFF20 programme. These include the Northern Ireland independent films "Welcome to Northern Ireland," directed by Michael McBroom; "Spin Off", directed by Michael McNulty and the experimental short "To See a Lighthouse" directed by Will McConnell.

Local filmmaker Colin McKeown will present selections from his new essay film: "Bad News and Good Vibrations: NI on Screen" as well as previewing "Never Forget" - his tribute to Alan Clarke’s ‘Elephant'.

“The Shape Between Us,” a short collection of archive films about the Northern Ireland dance music scene, will be curated by Second Chance Cinema.

On Saturday April 4th, the festival will celebrate the best new Northern Irish/Irish fictional short films from the comfort of your own home. Between 10am and midnight anyone can view all 14 ‘in competition’ shorts and 7 ‘official selection’ shorts.

Join the festival on twitter, facebook and instagram throughout the day on Saturday to share your thoughts about the films, meet the filmmakers and share in a collective experience using the hashtag #bffsofashorts.

The winner of the ‘in competition’ programme will be announced by a judging panel on Sunday April 5th at midday.

Rebekah Davis from the festival said: “To slow down the spread of COVID-19 and protect our guests, audiences, staff and volunteers, the festival, which was due to start on April 1st, will now be postponed until the autumn. We considered the ‘social distancing’ and digital models at an emergency board meeting, we decided unanimously that halfway measures wouldn’t work.

“Just over a week ago we launched our 20th anniversary programme to a room packed with hundreds of excited film lovers, and we have already sold 2,000 tickets. We want to respond imaginatively to this difficult time. In order not to disappoint people too much, we will offer a few treats to our audience to thank them for their patience. A selection of online events will be available free for our audience.”

She added: “When people self isolate at home, what is one of the things they’ll do? They’ll watch films. Classic movies and new work. Film isn’t a fair weather friend. In the next few days, we will process refunds for all tickets and passes purchased. Keep an eye on our website for further updates. We thank our customers, our staff, volunteers, guests, funders, sponsors and venues”

Visit www.belfastfilmfestival.org from tomorrow and over the next 9 days (April 1st to 9th).