Yann Demange’s vivid and powerful debut feature stars Jack O’Connell (Starred Up) as a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971, where he must then attempt to survive the night.

New recruit Private Gary Hook (O'Connell) is unexpectedly deployed to Belfast during The Troubles in 1971. Shortly after arriving, his platoon is supporting a routine house search operation which escalates into a terrifying street riot, and during the chaos Hook is accidentally left behind. Unable to tell friend from foe, the raw recruit must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorientating, alien and deadly landscape.

Written by Gregory Burke (Black Watch), ‘71 is Demange’s feature debut after directing TV series including the award-winning Top Boy for Channel 4, and the soundtrack is by David Holmes.

The Walled Cities film season is about three cities in which political conflict is in the foreground and visualised through urban walls: the Palestinian West Bank wall, Belfast peace walls and the Berlin wall.

'71 will be followed by a discussion with Prof. Frank Gaffikin and Prof. Ken Sterrett, QUB Planning.

This is a CACity research group (Cinema and Architecture in the City) event series funded by the SNBE Culture and Society cluster. Visit cacity.org for more information.