One of the biggest achievements of 2023 was the international triumph of the short film, An Irish Goodbye. Writers/directors Ross White and Tom Berkeley scored a hat-trick at the Oscars, Baftas and Iftas, winning Best Live Action Short Film for their movie.
The film made household names of its two main stars, James Martin and Seamus O’Hara, while the pair behind it made history, becoming the youngest British filmmakers to win an Oscar.
New BBC crime show Blue Lights, set in Belfast, was a resounding success for creators Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson. In The Guardian newspaper’s review of the Top 50 TV programmes of 2023, series one of Blue Lights was ranked seventh. The drama, hailed as ‘a Belfast version of The Wire’, picked up a Best New Drama nomination at the National Television Awards.
So, what does 2024 have in store?
Television
The Tourist
It was the most watched drama of 2022, with 11.4 million viewers. Now The Tourist is back for a second series, premiering on BBC1 on New Year’s Day, at 9pm.
Starring Co Down’s Jamie Dornan as an amnesiac man trying to piece together his past, the action in series two moves from the Australian outback to Ireland. Filming took place in Dublin and sees the return of Danielle Macdonald as Helen. It also stars west Belfast actor Conor MacNeill as new character Ruairi.
The second episode will follow on Tuesday, January 2, with subsequent episodes airing on consecutive Sundays throughout January.
Season 2 of The Tourist begins on New Year’s Day
Blue Lights
The BBC One police drama, which follows a group of rookie PSNI officers as they navigate the dangers of policing in Belfast, will be back on our screens later this year, possibly spring.
The series, written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, was a huge hit, with the first episode averaging over six million viewers.
Starring Martin McCann, Sian Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Joanne Crawford, Des Eastwood, Andrea Irvine and Andi Osho, the series was lauded for its gritty realism, dark humour, strong ensemble cast and one or two shocking moments, including THAT unexpected death.
Many of the original cast members will be back for the highly-anticipated second season, which wrapped in November.
Sian Brooke as Grace Ellis in Blue Lights
How To Get to Heaven from Belfast
Set in Northern Ireland, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is Lisa McGee’s new comedy thriller. The eight-part series from the pen of the Derry Girls’ creator follows long-time friends Saoirse, Robyn and Dara, who begin to investigate the mysterious death of a former classmate they were once close to.
The cast hasn’t been announced yet for the “dark and twisted mystery”, neither have details of the shoot. But given the massive success of Derry Girls, there will be a lot of interest in Lisa’s new project.
Derry Girls writer Lisa McGee pictured at the Derry Girls mural in Derry
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
For eight series, fantasy epic Game of Thrones had its home base at Titanic Studios in Belfast.
The prequel series House of the Dragon relocated to Leavesden Studios in England as its centre of operations. HBO has another prequel in the pipeline, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, and speculation is rife that this one could return to Northern Ireland.
It is understood filming will begin in spring although the location hasn’t yet been confirmed. Series two of House of the Dragon, meanwhile, is set to premiere in summer 2024.
Film
How to Train Your Dragon, delayed due to the actors’ strike, will go into production in Belfast in January 2024 and is expected to shoot for four months. The live-action feature, directed by Dean DeBois and starring Nico Parker, will be released by Universal in June 2025.
Nico Parker is Belfast-bound to shoot How to Train your Dragon
Lift
Kevin Hart leads a diverse cast in this action heist comedy, directed by F. Gary Gray. Lift, which was filmed in Belfast and saw Hart out and about around town, follows a heist crew who plan to steal $100million worth of gold on a passenger flight, while airborne. Lift lands on Netflix on January 12, 2024.
The Golden West
Oscar winners Ross White and Tom Berkeley are back with their third and final short, The Golden West.
The talented Belfast pair, whose previous work includes the shorts Roy and the multi-award-winning An Irish Goodbye, turn their attentions to the Irish famine this time, with a story of two warring sisters who head to the mountains of North Wales in 1849 to search for gold.
The Golden West was filmed before last March’s Oscars and did well on the recent festivals circuit, winning Best Short at the Raindance Film Festival in London.
The writers/directors are hoping for a cinematic release in 2024 and are currently working on their first feature film.
A scene from The Golden West: (Photo: Floodlight Pictures)
Kneecap
Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, which tells the story of the rise of the eponymous west Belfast hip-hop trio, will make history in January 2024, when it becomes the first Irish language film to premiere at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
The film stars the band’s Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí in their acting debuts, alongside Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender, Simon Kirby and Josie Walker.
The big screen outing for the film is expected to be attended by some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Kneecap’s feature film will make history at the Sundance Film Festival
Music
Bruce Springsteen
One of the biggest gigs of 2024 will be the return of Bruce Springsteen to Belfast on May 9. The Boss and the E Street Band will play Boucher Road Playing Fields, before heading south to Kilkenny, Cork and Dublin as part of a 22-show stadium run.
Girls Aloud
Nadine, Cheryl, Kimberley and Nicola are back together to celebrate their 21st anniversary and to honour the memory of former bandmate Sarah, who died from breast cancer in September 2021.
The girls will bring their arena tour to the SSE Arena in Belfast on Monday, May 20, with Derry-born Nadine saying: “Girls Aloud are a band that made such a huge impact on people’s lives. We grew up with the band, but so did many other people. So, for us not to do something again feels like such a shame and a waste. We want to have that moment with fans where we can all enjoy it together.”
Girls Aloud
Take That
Belsonic 2024 is shaping up to be a belter with a wide variety of headline artists to suit different tastes.
Take That will take to the stage at Ormeau Park on June 22 as part of the 2024 line-up, with support from Olly Murs.
This Life Under the Stars tour will see Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald play 19 outdoor dates in eight countries in the summer of 2024.
Take That
Liam Gallagher
Announced for Belfast Vital 2024, Liam Gallagher will be bringing his Definitely Maybe 30 Years’ anniversary tour to Boucher Road Playing Fields on August 16, supported by Kasabian. The Mancunian rockstar will play the classic album in full along with B-sides from the era.
The gig will have particular significance for Gallagher fans as Oasis were playing the Limelight in Belfast the night the band’s debut, iconic album went to number one. Will this be a show worth seeing? There’s no maybe about it. Definitely.
Liam Gallagher plays Belfast this summer
Les Misérables
Cameron Mackintosh’s multi-award-winning West End musical Les Misérables comes to the SSE Arena, Belfast, on September 19, 20 and 21 and September 24 to 28.
The longest-running musical on the West End is based on the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo and is a gorgeous tear-jerker. Bring tissues.
Source link
credite