Mapping Belfast film locations: an exploration of the city and its architecture through cinema

Employing a mixed-methods approach, it combines Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with close cinematic analysis. A dataset of 776 film locations across 94 fiction films is mapped to reveal shifting patterns of representation across religious, socio-economic, and historically contested spaces. This macro-level mapping is complemented by cinematic place analysis, which deconstructs selected scenes to examine how narrative and visual strategies mediate Belfast’s changing urban identity.

Findings demonstrate a marked shift in cinematic geography following the Good Friday Agreement (1998). While pre-Agreement films focused on conflict-affected neighbourhoods and militarised infrastructures, later productions increasingly feature regenerated areas such as the Laganside waterfront and Titanic Quarter. The study’s implications extend beyond film studies, offering insights for urban planning, heritage, and cultural policy.

By illustrating how cinema shapes perceptions of space, it advocates more inclusive approaches to regeneration that acknowledge cultural memory and community representation. Ultimately, the thesis contributes to cinematic urbanism by positioning film as both an archive of urban memory and an active agent in redefining place. <br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31 December 2030.</i>