A Belfast cinema has discovered a certain reticence among single men in Northern Ireland, cancelling its first singles night due to lack of male interest.

The event at the Queen’s Film Theatre, featuring a screening of the new movie A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures, in which a film-maker with poor hygiene is encouraged by his mother to ask his exes what went wrong, was to take place last night.

But character Chris Waitt’s many personal humiliations — he wrote that all his interaction with women ended, “in personal humiliation, recrimination, regret, bitterness, shame and failure” — may have been too close to the bone for the local male population. Sarah Hughes, press and marketing officer at the QFT, said the cinema was intent on trying a singles night again.

She threw down the gauntlet to Northern Ireland’s single men: “Men of Northern Ireland, where is your gumption?

“We were all set for a great night and we could have sold our female tickets twice over, but we only got 50% of the men needed. It seems the men of Northern Ireland have run for the hills.

“But we do hope to try again, perhaps with a different title at a different time of year.”

Ms Hughes said a cinema trip was a “great way to meet people”.

“A film is a great common denominator. Among random groups of people you might get a few people who can bond because they both love Jaws or Star Wars — you can tell a lot about someone by what films they like. We thought it was a great, refreshing idea to meet someone in a non-pressurised environment like the cinema. It’s up to the men to step up to the next event.”

She defended the choice of film, in which Waitt tries to come to terms not only with his failed relationships, but with impotence by means including a visit to an Irish dominatrix called Miss Maisie. “We chose it because it was light-hearted and tongue- in-cheek. We didn’t want to show something really outlandishly romantic, but we thought a film like this would get everyone on a level-playing field instead of raising expectations. People have experienced the ups and downs of dating and we thought it might strike a chord with those who have dated successfully and unsuccessfully.

“It may well have been the film which put them off, but isn’t it interesting that our men don’t have enough faith in themselves to come to an event like this?”

Ms Hughes and cinema manager Susan Picken are discussing choices for a future singles night. Anyone interested should email s.hughes@qub.ac.uk.