Belfast is a 2021 Irish/British coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh.
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- Belfast is a 2021 Irish/British coming of age comedy-drama film.
- It was written and directed by Kenneth Branagh.
- The film stars Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, and newcomer Jude Hill.
- Branagh has described the movie as his “most personal film”.
- It centres on a young boy’s childhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the beginning of The Troubles in 1969.
- Belfast had its world premiere at the 48th Telluride Film Festival on 2 September 2021.
- Shortly thereafter, it won the People’s Choice Award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.
- The film was released in the United States on 12 November 2021 by Focus Features.
- In the United Kingdom and Ireland on 21 January 2022, by Universal Pictures.
- It received positive reviews from critics.
- So far, it has grossed $21.4 million worldwide.
- Branagh’s film received seven nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
- It was named one of the best films of 2021 by the National Board of Review.
- It tied with The Power of the Dog for a leading seven nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Drama.
- The film won a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay.
- It also drew with Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story for a leading eleven nominations at the 27th Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Picture.
- The movie also received six nominations at the 75th British Academy Film Awards.
- Kenneth Branagh started working on the film in March 2020.
- In July 2020, Branagh announced that he would write and direct the film.
- Ιn September 2020, Judi Dench, Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds and Jude Hill joined the cast of the film.
- Principal photography began in September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Filming initially took place in and around London, before moving to Belfast.
- The entire film was shot in seven weeks.
- Production concluded by October 2020.
- The film was shot in black and white.
- The film features music by Belfast native Van Morrison, including eight classic songs and a new song Morrison wrote for the film
- The film is based on true story events from Kenneth Branagh’s childhood.
- Kenneth Branagh wrote the screenplay at the encouragement of his friend, actor John Sessions. This would be Sessions’ final film role, having passed away in November of 2020.
- Various members of the production were actually born in Belfast, including writer-director Kenneth Branagh, Jamie Dornan (Pa), Ciarán Hinds (Pop), Josie Walker (Auntie Violet).
- This is the sixth film collaboration between Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench.
- In one scene, Buddy reads a Thor comic book. Kenneth Branagh, the film’s writer and director, previously directed Thor the first film adaptation of the character.
- Among the first films to hold a Los Angeles premiere at the newly opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which opened to the public in September 2021.
- Ciaran Hinds ( “Pop”) also left Belfast in the mid-70s for England, to escape ” The Troubles” but, unlike “Pop”, he was a Catholic.
- To capture moments of spontaneity, Kenneth Branagh would often, secretly roll camera on scenes that Jude Hill (“Buddy”) thought were just rehearsals. Jude eventually began to suspect what was happening, so the crew taped over the red lights on the camera that signalled it was rolling. Many scenes in the finished film were these “rehearsals”.
- In one scene, Dame Judi Dench visits a cinema to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The classic caper was written by James Bond author Ian Fleming. Dench played spy chief M from GoldenEye until Skyfall.
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