Actor-writer-director Kenneth Branagh has finally won his first Oscar after taking home the best original screenplay award for ‘Belfast’ at the 94th Academy Awards.
Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ was up against ‘Don’t Look Up’ (Adam McKay and David Sirota), ‘Licorice Pizza’ (Paul Thomas Anderson), ‘King Richard’ (Zach Baylin) and ‘The Worst Person in the World’ (Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt).
The award was presented by ‘Juno’ stars Jennifer Garner, Elliot Page and J.K. Simmons to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their film, which won the Oscar in this category.
Accepting the award, Branagh said, “This story is the search for joy and hope in the face of violence and loss. We lost some people along the way: Johnny Sessions, [star Jamie Dornan’s father] Jim Dornan, Leah Newman. We miss them; we love them; we will never forget them. And we will never forget all of those lost in the heartbreaking, heartwarming, human story of that amazing city of Belfast on the fabulous island of Ireland.”
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Branagh had received eight nominations in his career heading into the ceremony, and his semiautobiographical film, which he also directed, earned seven nominations. His first career nominations came for best actor and best director for 1989’s ‘Henry V’.
The other nominations followed in 1993 for Best Live-Action Short Film (‘Swan Song’), 1997 for Best Adapted Screenplay (‘Hamlet’), and 2021 for Performance By an Actor in a Supporting Actor (‘My Week With Marilyn’).
Branagh wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical ‘Belfast’, which was based on his own experiences growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
‘Belfast’ features Jamie Dornan, Caitriona Balfe, and the young Jude Hill. The film follows a working-class family and the son’s childhood during the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital.
The screenplay of ‘Belfast’ previously earned the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award. (ANI)
