Belfast City Hall,
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Love and death on record in one room
THE tales of love and death behind the doors of Belfast's City Hall have been captured for the first time. After months at the centre of flag protests the real business of the iconic building has been caught on camera by film maker Guy King.
He was allowed access to the most intimate moments of Belfast citizens' lives as they recorded births, arranged weddings and registered deaths. And he says his glimpse into Northern Ireland biggest Register Office is not just a snapshot of the City Hall, it's a portrait of the city.
Joy
Amid the joy of births - one young mum reveals her baby's dad vetoed the name Precious because it sounds like a porn star - Guy was allowed behind the scenes at weddings and to share the sorrow of funerals.
The veteran camera man encountered grieving parents Brian and Tracey when they came in to register the death of their baby son. When they returned a few months later to make arrangements for their wedding he was invited to film their big day.
Former Crusaders player Arthur Brady lost his wife Joan on Christmas Eve. He allowed Guy to film the process of registering her death and to follow the start of his life without her in a spirit typical of the city - that life had to go on.
"He understood that while that was a really sad moment for him allowing me to film it wasn't going to make it any worse. If it would cause any distress I would give people a wide berth," says Guy.
"Arthur is doing OK now. I asked him if things had got any easier and he said it never gets easier and he doesn't want it to, because that would mean he'd have to forget and he doesn't want to forget. "The whole experience gave me a glimpse of the Belfast character which is kind and self-effacing and positive; that there is an obligation to be positive and get through things.
"There was an openness there. People saw the point of sharing if it meant there were people out there who could get some sort of solace from knowing they weren't the only one in that situation," he says.
Guy, who worked with Louis Theroux in his exposes of crime in Nigeria and the controversial treatment of sex offenders in California, says he set out to try to understand Belfast, but his mum came up with the idea. "She rang me one day and said my dad had just been dragged in off the street in Derry to witness a wedding and had I ever considered making a film about a register office," says Guy.
As a result he met people like Belfast widow Sally, who wanted to cremate her husband with the ashes of his favourite dog, and admitted she'd probably spilled a little of him on her carpet.
Honeymoon
The registrars also shared their loves and losses, including one who'd realised on her honeymoon that her marriage wasn't going to work, and another who realised that she'd let the love of her life go at 19 and it was too late to get him back.
One of the most poignant stories is Peggy Smith's, a registrar who opened up to Guy about her son's death and the feathers which make her feel connected to him. "Christopher was my only son and he had a brain tumour," says Peggy.
"After Christopher died I would find feathers in really random places and I looked upon them as a sign. I have kept several of them. I would love some more connection - it's not enough," she says.
As well as following the very personal stories Guy says he'll give viewers a glimpse inside a building most Belfast inhabitants never see. "A lot of people wouldn't have been there before and it has a church-like quality, which adds a sense of ceremony. I tried to make it as beautiful as possible.
"It is literally the circle of life in one room," he says.