Sir Kenneth Branagh attributes pandemic creating circumstances to write Belfast

Jude Hill as Buddy in Belfast (Rob Youngson/Focus Features/PA)

Sir Kenneth Branagh has attributed the circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic as allowing him to write a film inspired by his childhood in Belfast.

Arriving at the premiere of Belfast in his home city, Sir Kenneth admitted he had not expected to write the story but said it “needed to come out” and he had had the room to do it.