The 1939 Diary of a Belfast Cinema-Goer.

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Recording the films you watch has a history which stretches back long before the creation of Letterboxd. In this talk, cinema historian Sam Manning uses the 1939 diary of a Belfast

resident to explore what its contents can tell us about cinema-going habits in 1930s Northern Ireland.

The diary provides a unique insight into the customs, preferences and opinions of a single cinema-goer at a time when a trip to the flicks was the most popular leisure activity. The diarist used their own rating system to log the 325 films they saw in 1939, with highly-rated films including Three Comrades and Too Hot to Handle.

The talk also uses images and an interactive map to explore the diarist’s favourite venues, including picture palaces such as the Majestic and the Ritz. The diarist sadly did not record their name or address, but did leave clues to help reveal their identity. Come along to hear more about Belfast’s cinema history and, if you can, help uncover the mystery diarist.