Mark Cousins, formerly from Northern Ireland, created a poetic, painterly, depiction of Belfast and its citizens. The story swoops through the historic city including the surrounding countryside, changing and historic architecture and the challenging, conflicting and altering political and personal upheavals, using Helen Bereen as the character that is Belfast itself.

I have never visited Northern Ireland, despite having relatives that live in the Republic, so everything in this documentary is new to me or only comes to me via my wife who has been there or the news and media. Many will find this film moving and fluidly poetic with the narrative of Belfast herself, Helen Bereen, being soothing and moving.

Clearly this a personal work from the heart by Cousins but there is a wistful recounting of history and we all know the troubled history of that part of Northern Ireland. Certainly parts of Belfast are shown that in no other way would be and the two women interviewed near the end of the film certainly nearly upstage the whole film and story telling.

I Am Belfast will never be everyone’s cup of tea and those who have no connection or interest in Belfast it goes without saying will have little to no interest and those without a poetical or artistic heart probably best move on.