This year’s recipient of the inaugural EIFF Outstanding Contribution to Cinema Award, we are delighted to welcome actor and director Kenneth Branagh to the Festival to participate in a wide ranging discussion of his illustrious career to date. From acting and directing for the stage over decades, to creating a series of acclaimed Shakespeare adaptations for the cinema, and from helming massive Hollywood blockbusters including Thor (2011) and Murder on the Orient Express (2017) to intimate character pieces All is True (2018) and Belfast (2021), Branagh is a force of nature in the arts as well as a true champion of cinema.