Kenneth Branagh Working On A '60s Belfast-Set Semi-Autobiographical Drama

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by Simon Dang
June 20, 2012 1:38 PM
1 Comment

While "Thor" will move on without him, Brit multi-hyphenate Sir Kenneth Branagh (yep, he was knighted this week) has certainly been kicking around plenty of other directorial efforts, including an adaptation of Henning Mankell's "Italian Shoes" with Anthony Hopkins and Dame Judi Dench, "The Guernsey Liteary And Potato Peel Pie Society" with Kate Winslet and an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" as well as recently boarding the long-gestating Jack Ryan reboot with Chris Pine.

On top of all this, though, Branagh is evidently working on a project much closer to home; a Belfast-set semi-autobiographical political drama based his own childhood experiences on the brink of The Troubles, an erratic time of political unrest in Britain. "What's always appealed to me was to tell a story about my own experience: a generational thing about my time in Belfast, a particular slice of dockside, working-class, Protestant life. I have an almost photographic recall of seeing Bernadette Devlin on television in the riots, and what all of that was doing to our family and all of those around us," Branagh revealed to The Guardian.

Sounds like a potentially insightful and fascinating depiction of '60s British life though Branagh's eyes though, despite the explanation, it remains to be seen what the crux of the story will be. Or how the biographical and political elements will come into play. Either way, it's all pretty early, and we'll have to wait and see but it's another project from the director who if anything, remains unpredictable.

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jen | July 16, 2012 11:00 PMReply

i want to see the belfast project & macbeth before i see the jack ryan, guernsey & italian shoes projects, but my guess is i'm s.o.l. what a handsome & talented guy though, yeah?