The Culture Commission of the Jagiellonian University’s PhD Student Association invites you to attend the next edition of the Doctoral Students' Film Club, which will be held in the White Auditorium of the Cinema Under the Rams (Rynek Główny 27) on Thursday March 17th at 5:45 PM. This time, we will watch Kenneth Branagh's film Belfast.
Belfast is a humorously told personal tale of the youth of a certain boy in the late 1960s. The film’s cast include Golden Globe nominee Caitriona Balfe (Outlander), Oscar winner Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), Jamie Dorman (Fifty Shades of Gray), and Ciaran Hinds (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and introducing Jude Hill.
The film was written and directed by Kenneth Branagh (who won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay), whose thirty-year film career introduced us to Henry V’s campaign at Agincourt, the heavenly chambers of Thor, and the murderous intrigues aboard the Orient Express. This time, the director transports us to a more realistic and familiar setting. The film Belfast, named after the city where the director was born, is Branagh’s most personal and moving film to date.
The film’s plot is set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1969, where the conflict between those striving for the unity of all Ireland (Catholics) and the supporters of Northern Ireland’s remaining in Great Britain (Protestants) is becoming increasingly intense.
Nine-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill in his debut) is a joyful boy whose Protestant family (parents, grandparents, and brother) have always lived next to their Catholic neighbors. Buddy’s playground is the alley of a working-class neighborhood, the same street where his quarrelsome, charming parents (Caitrion Balfe and Jamie Dornan), older brother Will (Lewis McAskie) and caring grandparents (Judie Dench and Ciaran Hinds) have been born and raised. After growing unrest, Buddy’s father decides to leave Belfast and look for a safer life somewhere in Sydney or Vancouver. His mother hates the notion of leaving home for a distant place where no one knows their names, while Buddy is above all interested in eating chocolate, going to the movies, dreaming of landing on the moon, and yearning for his crush at school.
The film does not present the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in detail. Rather, it is a tender story of childhood, first love, and family. Critics have called Belfast a real cinematic gem, love letter, or magical film it is impossible to not fall in love with.
Belfast has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Admission is free for doctoral students at the Jagiellonian University, although the number of participants is limited. We ask all who are interested in attending the event to send an email to filip.mazurczak@doctoral.uj.edu.pl by Wednesday March 16th. Because of the current restrictions, only one-third of participants can be unvaccinated. In your email, please indicate if you have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Filip Mazurczak, the coordinator of the Doctoral Students’ Film Club, will send you a COVID vaccination declaration, which you will have to sign and bring to the cinema next Thursday.
The introduction to the film will begin at 5:45 PM sharp. Please do not arrive late.