Belfast: Kenneth Branagh’s ‘warm-hearted’ tribute to his home city
Kenneth Branagh had been planning for a while on directing a semi-autobiographical film, on growing up amidst ‘the troubles’ in 1960s Northern Ireland.
He decided that 2020 would be the year to do it, with the bulk of shooting beginning in September.
“We had six weeks of prep time, and six weeks to shoot the whole film, which is a fairly astonishing feat, ” said Dominic Masters, 56, supervising Art Director of the film, Belfast.
‘We had to shoot a riot scene, which is quite hard to do socially distanced, so we dressed up all the extras with balaclavas which double as face masks.’
This is just one example of the challenges Branagh and his team had to deal with throughout filming during the pandemic.
With most of the budget financed by Branagh himself, cast and crew alike were happy to take a pay cut in order to ensure the film was completed.
Belfast has already received critical acclaim, with Masters stating: ‘I believe it could be a serious contender for the Oscars’.
With a star-studded cast, it’s unsurprising that the performances are one of the highlights of the film. With actors Jamie Dornan and Catriona Balfe playing Buddy’s (Jude Hill) parents.
With Ciaran Hinds and Dame Judie Dench as the grandparents, however, the standout actor is newcomer, Jude Hill, who has already been put forward for the best actor award at the 94th academy awards (2022).
Branagh kept having to tell Hill not to look into the camera at the start, however, he quickly adapted.
‘From day one, we were watching him and he just had a natural presence, he was mature and it didn’t feel like a performance, he just slotted right in,’ said Masters.
Belfast only had a budget of £6 million and two main shooting locations.
Branagh’s crew renovated an abandoned school for the majority of interior scenes, and used Farnborough airport for outdoor shooting.
‘I felt proud after seeing the film, knowing what everyone achieved in that small time span, with that budget, it really is impressive, ’ said Masters after the premiere at the London film festival in October.
Belfast is out on the 12th of November this year in Northern Ireland. It will be interesting to see whether Branagh and crew will be rewarded at the award ceremonies next year.
