Kenneth Branagh's Oscar Contender 'Belfast' Opens This Friday

If it's November, then it's time for the first wave of significant contenders for the Academy Awards to hit theaters. As has been standard for the past few years, these films include several U.K. artists, including odd biopics like The Electrical Life of Louis Wain with perennial hopeful Benedict Cumberbatch and the surrealist take on the late Princess Diana in Spencer. But of all the hopefuls coming to theaters (and then following on streaming), it's Kenneth Branagh's Belfast that has the most momentum behind it.

The black and white film is one of Branagh's most personal to date, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story chronicling the life of a working-class family during the late 1960s edition of the Troubles. The five-time Oscar nominee was already knighted in 2012, but he has been honored by his home country in recent years, named one of Ireland's greatest film actors of all time. His film has followed the traditional Awards seasons role out, opening at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival back in September. It has already landed 11 nominations at this year's British Independent Film Awards.

The movie will open nationwide in both the U.S and the U.K. this Friday, Nov. 12, and had its red carpet premiere this week. Check out the trailer and the all-star cast that Branagh has rounded up.