Northern Ireland

Jude Hill was 'destined for stardom', says school principal, as cinema-goers flock to see 'Belfast'

Jude Hill stars in the movie Belfast
Jude Hill stars in the movie Belfast Jude Hill stars in the movie Belfast

CO Down schoolboy Jude Hill "always shone" and was "destined for stardom", his principal has said as cinema-goers flocked to see 'Belfast' last night ahead of its general UK release today.

Amid speculation that the 11-year-old from Gilford could be tipped for Oscar success, headteacher Sorcha Lyness described how he has "a real presence in the room".

A pupil at St John's Primary School, Jude has been receiving rave reviews for his performance as Buddy in the semi-autobiographical Kenneth Branagh movie.

The movie opened in some cinemas in the north last night and is due for release in all cinemas and across Britain today.

It follows the tale of Buddy and his working-class parents, played by Jamie Dornan and Caitriona Balfe, trying to make their way through the tumultuous late 1960s as the Troubles broke out.

Dame Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds also star as Buddy's grandparents with the drama looking back on Sir Kenneth's experiences of growing up in the Tigers Bay area of north Belfast.

Earlier this month, the movie won the best screenplay award at the Golden Globes and is hotly tipped for Oscar nominations, which are due to be announced next month.

Speaking to the Irish News about Jude's success, Ms Lyness said "the whole school is so proud of him".

"We are blown away by how well he has done," she said.

"He's in P7 now, so he was in P6 when he found out that he got the part in the film, but he doesn't let it faze him.

"Even after the London premiere, on his first day back at school after rubbing shoulders with lots of stars, he just came into class and sat down as normal, like nothing had happened.

"He is such an all-rounder, equally as good at sport, music, acting and drama as well as his education. He is a very capable student.

"He does drama outside school and over the years has taken part in plays and events in school and he always shone.

"From Christmas plays, poems at speech and drama festivals, we would have got him to recite the poem in assembly and you could hear a pin drop.

"He just has a real presence in the room."

Ms Lyness also said speculation Jude could be tipped for Oscar success was "absolutely fantastic".

"Even to be nominated is an amazing achievement at such a young age," she said.

"He has so much support behind him too, we are so proud of him."

While the film had its Irish premiere at the Waterfront Hall in November, it was only released in some cinemas in Northern Ireland last night.

Michael McAdam from the Movie House chain said "bookings for the film are very healthy" with some screens sold out last night.

"It's certainly looking popular and I know from seeing it, it's very enjoyable," he said.

"Bookings for the film are very healthy, we have it on two screens at our cinemas and a few, such as Coleraine and Maghera, are sold out, while Yorkgate is certainly heading that way this weekend.

"The film is going to definitely appeal to people of my generation in particular, I am 61, around the same age as Branagh so I can relate to a lot of the film from my childhood too.

"So many people don't understand what it was like for communities during the Troubles, so the story Branagh is telling will hopefully provide an insight to other generations as well."

Although rules around covid passports change next week on January 26, Mr McAdam urged customers to remember to Covid certification to be able to enter the cinema.

"People need to remember to have their Covid passes and ID or a negative lateral flow test that has been registered or proof of having had Covid.

"I've bought 4,500 lateral flow tests for our cinemas, so if people have forgotten, they can test themselves and as long as it's a negative, they can get in."