Sir Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film Belfast has bagged the Award for Outstanding British Film.
The movie, which is set in Branagh’s native north Belfast in the late 1960s, is a humorous and poignant story of a little boy’s childhood.
Belfast, which was among the top contenders in the BAFTA race with six nominations, was also nominated for Best Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Caitríona Balfe), Best Supporting Actor (Ciarán Hinds), and Best Editing.
After receiving the award from actress Emma Watson, Sir Kenneth Branagh said that he wanted to thank his “outstanding producers” Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, and Tamer Thomas, who joined him on stage. He also thanked the British cinema audiences. “Thank you to British cinema audiences for watching the film at UK and Irish cinemas. All hail the streaming revolution, but all hail the big screen too- it’s alive! And long may they live together (sic).”
Watch his full speech here:
“This is a black and white film about the Troubles, it was not an easy pitch,” he added.
He further said, “But when all the great talent in this room dreams up anything similarly unlikely to make or to finance, please remember that if you build it, they will come. Build it with passion with truth and believe in the originality and the uniqueness of your story and your voice and believe in the imagination of the public to embrace every and any kind of story well told (sic).”
“We are so proud to be included in this year’s films- they are all outstanding (sic),” he concluded.