‘Belfast’ Wins Top Prize at Middleburg Film Festival

Clayton Davis It’s more than a coincidence that Jamie Dornan took on the role of Pa in “Belfast.” Having been born in the Northern Ireland town, Dornan jumped at the opportunity to take on this deeply personal story, a semi-autobiographical take on Kenneth Branagh’s childhood.Dornan even grew up with a picture of his own father and Branagh in his house. It seems as if Dornan was waiting for the two to finally meet his entire life.

The award-winning film is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s childhood, amid the social and political tumult of the late 1960s. Stars including Jamie Dornan, Caitríona Balfe, Ciarán Hinds and 10-year old Jude Hill joined Branagh on the ‘Belfast’ red-carpet at the ICC Belfast, Waterfront Hall.

Irish actress Caitríona Balfe looked sensational as she rocked a suit on the red carpet at the Irish premiere of her new movie Belfast, where she was joined by her co-stars including Jamie Dornan Thursday night.

The Montclair Film Festival (MFF) unveiled its 2021 winners, with Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person In The World taking the top prize. This year’s festival featured four competitive categories: Fiction, Documentary, Future/ Now, and New Jersey Filmmaking. Additionally, the Fiction and Documentary juries also awarded films for the festival’s Short Film competitions. The MFF also announced the festival’s 2021 Audience Awards and Junior Jury prizes.

Dylan Penn stuns in a red hot dress for the 2021 SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Friday night (October 29) in Savannah, Ga.

Kodi Smit-McPhee suits up in a sharp red ensemble for the 2021 SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Tuesday night (October 26) in Savannah, Ga.

Naman Ramachandran Teemu Nikki’s Venice and Antalya winner “The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic” won the Golden star for best film at the 5th El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt, which wrapped Friday. The award carries a cash prize of $50,000.The film’s lead Petri Poikolainen won best actor, while Maya Vanderbeque, the young star of “Playground,” won best actress.

Naman Ramachandran Yomna Khattab’s “Fifty Meters” (Egypt) was the big winner at the CineGouna Platform, the El Gouna Film Festival’s industry arm created to support and empower Egyptian and Arab filmmakers and help them find artistic and financial support. This year, the CineGouna Platform disbursed awards worth $300,000 across 13 projects in development and seven films in post-production.

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast screened in D.C. on Monday night, drawing representatives from Ireland, Great Britain and the city itself, but the novelty of the moment was the fact that there was an in-person event at all.

Belfast is not only being backed for success at next year’s Oscars but it’s now being backed to lay down a marker at the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards. The Northern Irish coming-of-age film took home the coveted People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and is now 7/4 favourite from 5/2 to win the SAG Award for Best Film Ensemble.

Naman Ramachandran Palestinian filmmaker Said Zagha was turned away by Egyptian authorities in Cairo on his way to the El Gouna Film Festival to pitch his new project.The U.K. permanent resident has a Jordanian passport that indicates he is of Palestinian origin.

Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya and Jason Momoa are ready for their big movie debut!

K.J. Yossman When a friend told director, writer and actor Missy Malek about a real-life group of disabled drug dealers operating in London, Malek instantly knew she had the makings of a film.“The second I heard it, I was like, ‘Yes, yes, amazing.

Naman Ramachandran The fire that engulfed a section of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival’s Festival Plaza on Wednesday turned out to be a minor deterrent as the event’s fifth anniversary got off to a rousing start on Thursday.The fire, the cause of which has not yet been confirmed but is possibly a short circuit, was contained swiftly, with Samih Sawiris, chair of festival parent company Orascom Development Holding, personally supervizing repairs.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaScreen Media has acquired all North American rights to “La Soga Salvation” following its premiere at 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, where it screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section.

Naman Ramachandran A massive fire that broke out at Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival on Wednesday is now under control, organizers have confirmed.Shortly after the fire broke out, dramatic videos of the incident were posted on social media. Watch: A massive fire has broken out in the main hall of the El Gouna Film Festival site in Egypt, one day ahead of the opening ceremony, according to local media reports.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentCatalan director Clara Roquet’s teenage female friendship drama “Libertad” and Ferit Karahan’s social drama “Brother’s Keeper,” about Kurdish kids living in fear at a Turkish boarding school, won the best film awards respectively in the international and national competitions at Turkey’s 58th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival which wrapped Saturday.“Libertad,” a first feature that centers on a bond that forms during a summer in Spain’s Costa Brava

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast tells the story of a fictional nine-year-old version of himself during the Troubles in late 1960s Northern Ireland. Today, he told Deadline’s Contenders Film: London event that he had long wanted to write something about the city, but was thinking “perhaps there was a story about my grandparents,” until the pandemic came around.