Belfast: Personal drama by Kenneth Branagh about a young boy growing up in 1960s Belfast who is caught off guard by the riots.
Film plot and background
Personal drama by Kenneth Branagh about a young boy growing up in 1960s Belfast who is caught off guard by the riots.
Buddy (Jude Hill) knows exactly where he belongs. The nine-year-old lives in north Belfast, his parents (Jamie Dornan and Caitriona Balfe) are working class, he knows everyone on his street and everyone looks out for him. The community is close-knit, they play in the street, witness the great adventures of westerns like “High Noon” in the cinema hall.
But his life changes from one day to the next. Social discontent spreads like wildfire through the population and escalates in August 1969. If at first it was only a masked attack, the unrest quickly spreads to the whole city. From brothers in spirit to bloody enemies: The feud of Catholics and Protestants plunges the city into chaos.
Buddy, however, knows from films what he has to do. But can he single-handedly emulate the heroes of the greatest westerns and save his family? Protect his grandparents (Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench) and confess his feelings to his first love (Lara McDonnell)? One thing is certain: it’s worth fighting. After all, Belfast is not only his home, but the only world he knows.
“Belfast” – background, cast, cinema release
In arguably the most personal film of his career, Kenneth Branagh (“Murder on the Orient Express”) recounts his own childhood in Belfast and the turmoil that divided the city in the late 1960s. During the 2020 Corona Shockdown, fifty years after the experience, he wrote the story down into a moving drama in which young Buddy (Jude Hill) embodies a fictional version of himself.
The main roles see stars like Jamie Dornan (“The Fall: Death in Belfast”), Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander”), Ciarán Hinds (“Rome”) and Jude Dench (“Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”). Young Jude Hill makes his debut film in “Belfast”.
The world premiere of “Belfast” took place at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2021, with further screenings at the Toronto Film Festival just a week later, where the film won the Audience Award. The theatrical release date for “Belfast” is February 24, 2022.
“Belfast” at the Oscars 2022
With seven nominations at the 2022 Academy Awards, “Belfast” is considered one of the big favourites of the night. Among others, the drama has hopes in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay as well as Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Kenneth Branagh also achieved a small feat (via Variety): He became the first person to be nominated in seven different Oscar categories. So far in his career he has received nominations for Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading and Supporting Role, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Short Film. Now he also received nominations as Producer for Best Film and Best Original Screenplay. In the end, Kenneth Branagh received the award for Best Original Screenplay – his first Oscar award.
