Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh

Birthday: 1960-12-10

Place of Birth: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Biography: Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 2012 and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Branagh has directed and starred in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, including Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995), Hamlet (1996), and As You Like It (2006). He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director for Henry V and Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet. He directed Swan Song (1992), which earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He also directed Peter's Friends (1992), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Thor (2011), and Cinderella (2015). For his semi-autobiographical film Belfast (2021), he was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Director and won Best Original Screenplay. Branagh directed and starred as Hercule Poirot in the Hercule Poirot film series (2017–present). He has also acted in Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Valkyrie (2008). His portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011) earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played supporting roles in Christopher Nolan's films Dunkirk (2017), Tenet (2020), and Oppenheimer (2023). Branagh has starred in the BBC1 series Fortunes of War (1987), the Channel 4 series Shackleton (2002), the television film Warm Springs (2005), and the BBC One series Wallander (2008–2016). He received a Primetime Emmy Award and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for portraying SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001).

Movies

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Cars fly, trees fight back, and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of hi...

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The Road to El Dorado
The Road to El Dorado

Stowing away after a failed con, a pair of swindlers end up on El Dorado, the fabled "city of gold",...

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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein is a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during ch...

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Valkyrie
Valkyrie

Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native German...

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Hamlet
Hamlet

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother now marrying the ...

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It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

Mary Shelley created a monster in 1818, and writers, actors and filmmakers haven't been able to get ...

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Henry V
Henry V

In 1415, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the co...

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Sleuth
Sleuth

Locked in a high-tech English manor, bound in a deadly duel of wits, Andrew Wyke and Milo Tindle com...

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Peter's Friends
Peter's Friends

After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter invites his friends from college...

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Dead Again
Dead Again

In 1949, composer Roman Strauss is executed for the murder of his wife. In 1990s Los Angeles, a dete...

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Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing

In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding of...

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Wild Wild West
Wild Wild West

Legless Southern inventor Dr. Arliss Loveless plans to rekindle the Civil War by assassinating Presi...

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Celebrity
Celebrity

The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Rob...

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Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire

In the class-obsessed and religiously divided UK of the early 1920s, two determined young runners tr...

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Rabbit-Proof Fence
Rabbit-Proof Fence

In 1931, three Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their homes to be trained as domesti...

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Conspiracy
Conspiracy

At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in...

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The Gingerbread Man
The Gingerbread Man

A successful Savannah defense attorney gets romantically involved with a sexy, mysterious waitress t...

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Walking with Monsters
Walking with Monsters

Many people think of the dinosaurs as the first inhabitants of the earth, but this prequel to the ac...

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How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog

The story of Peter McGowan, a chain-smoking, impotent, insomniac playwright who lives in Los Angeles...

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A Month in the Country
A Month in the Country

A destitute WWI veteran is hired to help carry out restoration work on a medieval mural in a rural Y...

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Othello
Othello

The evil Iago pretends to be friend of Othello in order to manipulate him to serve his own end in th...

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Five Children and It
Five Children and It

The Psammead is an 'it', an ancient, ill-tempered sand-fairy with a spider-shaped body, bat-like ear...

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Warm Springs
Warm Springs

Franklin Roosevelt, left a paraplegic from polio at 39 years of age, seeks out a miracle cure in the...

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IMAX: Galapagos 3D
IMAX: Galapagos 3D

Retrace the groundbreaking footsteps of Charles Darwin with a young scientist as she explores the bi...

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The Periwig-Maker
The Periwig-Maker

Europe; the plague years. A wigmaker, locked in his shop, observes the events and writes about them ...

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The Boat That Rocked
The Boat That Rocked

When a group of rebellious deejays decides to defy the ban on government-censored music, they take t...

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Love's Labour's Lost
Love's Labour's Lost

A scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to ha...

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My Week with Marilyn
My Week with Marilyn

London, 1956. Genius actor and film director Laurence Olivier is about to begin the shooting of his ...

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The Theory of Flight
The Theory of Flight

A dreamer who aspires to human flight is assigned public service after one of his attempts off a pub...

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Mayday
Mayday

Lieutenant Troy Brennan's reconnaissance mission over Soviet territory goes awry, forcing him to cra...

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Strange Interlude
Strange Interlude

Adaptation of an experimental play in nine acts by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. Strange Inter...

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With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

At 89 years old, Stan Lee's name appears on more than one BILLION comics in 75 countries in 25 langu...

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A Haunting in Venice
A Haunting in Venice

Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot, now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantl...

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High Season
High Season

On the isle of Rhodes, Katherine, an expatriate English photographer, lives with her daughter. A you...

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London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder
London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder

The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place at 9pm on 27 July 2012. Titled 'Isles of W...

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Ghosts
Ghosts

Helene Alving leads an outwardly contented life. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of her husband's...

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Universal Horror
Universal Horror

A documentary about the era of classic monster movies that were made at Universal Studios during the...

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Stars in Shorts
Stars in Shorts

Seven short films, all of which feature name actors, including Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Colin Fi...

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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a t...

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Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence

This documentary follows Phillip Noyce as he tries to find three aboriginal girls able to act in his...

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Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

Reflecting Peter O'Toole's theatrical legacy, this feature documentary is structured into four acts,...

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The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

A 2004 documentary on the first three “Harry Potter” films detailing the behind-the-scenes journey o...

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Discovering Hamlet
Discovering Hamlet

Journey into "Hamlet"-the play and the man-through the experiences of some of the major actors and d...

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National Theatre Live: Macbeth
National Theatre Live: Macbeth

Performing from within the walls of a deconsecrated Manchester church, Kenneth Branagh takes the lea...

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Shadow of a Gunman
Shadow of a Gunman

The first part of O'Casey's "The Dublin Trilogy". Set in 1920, as the War of Independence rages, "Sh...

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The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs
The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs

A behind-the-scenes look at how the animators, sculptors and palaeontologists, using the latest stat...

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Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger

Look Back in Anger is a love triangle involving the brilliant-but-disaffected young Jimmy Porter, hi...

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Discovering Hamlet
Discovering Hamlet

IN 1988, rising star Kenneth Branagh tackled the role of Shakespeare’s prince of Denmark for the fir...

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Looking for Richard
Looking for Richard

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world t...

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1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and in...

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Easter 2016
Easter 2016

Set in 2016 prior to the centennial of the Easter Rising at Northern Ireland's only integrated teach...

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Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces

Lon Chaney, the silent movie star and makeup artist, renowned for his various characterizations and ...

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Alien Love Triangle
Alien Love Triangle

Physics lecturer Steven Chesterman finally realizes his long cherished dream of perfecting a telepor...

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Oppenheimer
Oppenheimer

The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II....

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The Proposition
The Proposition

Father Michael McKinnon goes from the UK to Boston circa 1935. For unknown reasons, he avoids at all...

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Schneider's 2nd Stage
Schneider's 2nd Stage

Which way lies madness? A man named Joe drives his Land Rover into a remote field. The purpose of hi...

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Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out

Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out was a one-off, one-hour documentary/biography about Stephen Fry released in ...

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Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe
Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe

A look at the story behind Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, featuring interviews an...

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Denzel Washington: A Model American
Denzel Washington: A Model American

In 30 years of a deeply committed career and 50 roles, Denzel Washington, double-Oscar winner, place...

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As You Like It
As You Like It

Witty, playful and utterly magical, the story is a compelling romantic adventure in which Rosalind a...

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The Dance of Shiva
The Dance of Shiva

In the trenches of the Western Front in 1915, a British army chaplain is forced to question his fait...

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Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale
Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

A jealous king jeopardizes his family, friendships and succession....

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The King of Kings
The King of Kings

Charles Dickens tells his young son Walter the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtim...

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Dunkirk
Dunkirk

The story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France, ...

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Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic
Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic

Documentary about the legendary American film director from his introduction to the film industry in...

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Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express

Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American tycoon aboard the Ori...

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Coming Through
Coming Through

While researching the work of author D.H. Lawrence (Kenneth Branagh), Kate (Alison Steadman) begins ...

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The Tramp and the Dictator
The Tramp and the Dictator

A look at the parallel lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the creat...

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Anne Frank Remembered
Anne Frank Remembered

Using previously unreleased archival material in addition to contemporary interviews, this Academy A...

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A Matter of Choice for Billy
A Matter of Choice for Billy

Belfast 1978: the Martin family, a year on. Norman is away in England, and his eldest son, Billy, an...

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A Coming to Terms for Billy
A Coming to Terms for Billy

Belfast, 1980: July, the marching season ... Norman Martin, away for two years, returns with his 'En...

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Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

A behind-the-scenes look at San Diego Comic-Con, the world's largest comic book convention, and the ...

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The Book That Wrote Itself
The Book That Wrote Itself

"Vincent believes he has written the great Irish novel. When publishers turn it down he decides to p...

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Prodigal
Prodigal

A father seeks to rescue his daughter from two organizations intent on acquiring her "special" abili...

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Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer
Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer

Set against the backdrop of post-war Britain, John Osborneʼs modern classic conjures the seedy glamo...

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To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse

A faithful dramatization of Virginia Woolf's novel. A lecturer, his family, the spinster Aunt Lily, ...

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The Lady's Not For Burning
The Lady's Not For Burning

A war and world weary soldier tries to talk a witch-hunting cleric into hanging him; he is shaken fr...

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Swing Kids
Swing Kids

The story of a close-knit group of young kids in Nazi Germany who listen to banned swing music from ...

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Mindhorn
Mindhorn

A washed up actor best known for playing the title character in the 1980s detective show "Mindhorn" ...

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Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot's Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terr...

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The Beasts Within
The Beasts Within

A closer look at the science of Human evolution, and how much early humans might've contributed to t...

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Triumph of the Beasts
Triumph of the Beasts

A deeper look at the science behind Walking with Beasts (2001)...

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Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any ...

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All Is True
All Is True

London, June 29th, 1613. The Globe Theater, ran by the famous playwright William Shakespeare, accide...

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A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers
A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers

A look at thrillers from all sides, including different types of thrillers and the stylistic tools f...

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A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics
A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics

A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics looks at Hollywood’s biggest screen spectaculars ...

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Too Late to Talk to Billy
Too Late to Talk to Billy

Relationships are strained in a Belfast family, particularly between a father and his son. First in ...

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Lorna
Lorna

In the follow-up to Graham Reid’s trilogy of ‘Billy’ plays, Billy's sister Lorna Martin is left to c...

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James Ellis: An Actor's Life
James Ellis: An Actor's Life

Documentary tracing the life of James Ellis, one of Northern Ireland’s best loved actors....

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Tenet
Tenet

Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonis...

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Lost Lives
Lost Lives

This poignant testament to the physical and emotional cost of war, centres on the Troubles in Northe...

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Thor: From Asgard to Earth
Thor: From Asgard to Earth

A strong and fast-paced overview piece that looks at the picture's set design, the inspirations from...

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It's a Whole New West: The Making of 'Wild, Wild West'
It's a Whole New West: The Making of 'Wild, Wild West'

This is a promotional behind the scenes featurette that originally appeared on HBO. A lot of the usu...

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Wild Wild West: Loveless's Ladies
Wild Wild West: Loveless's Ladies

Interviews with the actresses who are the character's assistants in the movie...

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Wild Wild West: Evil Devices
Wild Wild West: Evil Devices

A documentary taking a look at the giant spider and other "bad guy" weapons in the film...

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Fireheart
Fireheart

The film explores the world of firefighters in 1920s New York City and tells the story of a 16-year-...

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Thames Wallah
Thames Wallah

Documentary on David Triggs, who works for Thames Water, and is also a frequent visitor to India, as...

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Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’
Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’

A look behind the scenes of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet....

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Altman on His Own Terms
Altman on His Own Terms

A look at the life and career of acclaimed independent filmmaker Robert Altman...on his own words. T...

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Atonement
Atonement

Based on Dexter Filkins’ resonant New Yorker article of the same name, about Marine Lu Lobello, haun...

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The Devil Wears Prada 2
The Devil Wears Prada 2

Miranda Priestly navigates her career amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing. She faces...

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The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair

A reimagining of the 1968 film, but set in Europe. Plot TBA....

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Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe
Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

Feature-length documentary about the rise of Marvel Studios and their films leading up to, and inclu...

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Symphony for the Spire
Symphony for the Spire

An impressive lineup of international stars puts on a spectacular "Symphony for the Spire" to kick o...

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The Goblin
The Goblin

Plot TBA. Being described as Ted meets E.T....

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The Goebbels Experiment
The Goebbels Experiment

The Nazi propaganda mastermind behind Hitler speaks in first person as actor Kenneth Branagh reads p...

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Tea with Judi Dench
Tea with Judi Dench

Dame Judi Dench opens up her beautiful country home to long-time friend and sometime collaborator, K...

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"Death on the Nile": Novel to Film
"Death on the Nile": Novel to Film

In this documentary short, the people responsible for Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” (2022) d...

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Agatha Christie: Travel Can Be Murder
Agatha Christie: Travel Can Be Murder

In this documentary short, the people responsible for Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” (2022) d...

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Design on the Nile
Design on the Nile

In this documentary short, the people responsible for Kenneth Branagh’s “Death on the Nile” (2022) d...

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