THE views of Belfast people experiencing the cultural upheaval of the 1960s and the onset of the Troubles have been brought back to life for a powerful new video exhibition.
Using news footage from the UTV archive, the clips are being displayed across several floors in the dramatic setting of the abandoned Bank of Ireland building on Royal Avenue.
Showing how cultural views change across time, the varied subjects put to the Belfast public include short skirts, men with long hair, the death penalty, female ministers, tying up swings on a Sunday and how many children you should have.
On family size, one lady commented that "two to four children are quite sufficient" while another said it was "a lot of nonsense" and "people can have as many children as they want."
With plans announced to dock MLA pay this week, most of those interviewed on the subject believed that Stormont MPs in the 1960s deserved to have their pay increased to £65 a week.
As well as the humorous side of life, an emotional gut-punch awaits visitors on the top floor as people speak candidly about facing religious discrimination in the workplace.
Many Catholics, all who were overlooked for a job, said they weren't asked about their religion, but what school they went to.
Protestant and Catholic families also speak of the sheer heartbreak they had experienced after they were displaced from their homes through intimidation.
Rose Baker, the UK and Ireland programme director for the Belfast Film Fesitval, said: "I think people forget the global 1960s, as it's known, happened in Northern Ireland as well.
"But then we had this particularly unique shift at the end of the 1960s when obviously people started to experience the beginning of the Troubles.
"The archive footage is so fantastic because it is a document of that time in people's own words, literally on their doorsteps in the streets."
Entitled Vox Populi, which is latin for the voice of the people, the exhibition is open to the public today for tours at 10am, 11.15am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3pm/
Further information is available at belfastfilmfestival.org.
