In such films as Tabu and his Arabian Nights trilogy, Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes has proven himself one of the great armchair-travel merchants of modern cinema. But his films don’t trade in empty, postcard-pretty spectacle, instead probing our collective, itchy yen for escape, romance, discovery and storytelling, even when it comes at a personal or political cost.

His latest time-bending wonder is his most transportive yet, following restless civil servant Edward (Gonçalo Waddington) on a woozy odyssey through Southeast Asia that begins in 1918 and is gradually released from all rules of direction and chronology — with his long-suffering fiancée Molly (Crista Alfaiate) in hot pursuit all the while.

Funny, mysterious and often rapturously beautiful, it’s a joyful ode to the verdant jungle landscapes, slow-cruising riverboats and unfamiliar urban karaoke bars where you can lose yourself and, just as often, find yourself too.

For information on the full BFF24 programme visit: www.belfastfilmfestival.org