BFF21 Belfast

Synopsis

From lauded director Kenneth Branagh (Murder on the Orient Express) and starring an acclaimed ensemble cast, Belfast is a poignant and joyful coming-of-age drama set in late 1960s Northern Ireland.

It is 1969 and the imaginative young Buddy (major discovery Jude Hill) has a life filled with familial love, childhood hijinks and a blossoming romance. He pops into neighbouring houses as though they were his own and people look out for him while his charismatic working-class parents (Jamie Dornan, The Fall and Caitriona Balfe, Outlander) hustle to make ends meet. Yet as his beloved hometown is caught up in increasing turmoil, Buddy’s child’s-eye perspective on the increasing social unrest begins to give way to imaginings inspired by his love of movies.

Drawing on his own experiences and named after the city of his birth, Belfast is Branagh’s most personal — and most affecting — film yet. With a world-class cast that also includes Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds as Buddy’s beloved grandparents, shot in lustrous black and white and accompanied by a rousing Van Morrison soundtrack, Belfast is a big-hearted ode to a city, its community and to family.