Abbot’s Cliff

The Great Escaper (2023)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Michael Caine as Bernard Jordan stands on a boat, saluting the camera. On the deck above him is the ships crew, also saluting. Caine wears a navy blazer with war medals, green cardigan, blue shirt and green striped tie.

Michael Caine in The Great Escaper (2023) © Pathe

Director: Oliver Parker
Writer: William Ivory
Starring: Michael Caine, Glenda Jackson
Production Company: Ecosse Films, BBC Films, Filmgate Films, Ingenious, Pathe UK
Kent Locations Used: Port of Dover, Dover, Abbot’s Cliff

Inspired by true events, The Great Escaper (2023) chronicles the story of WWII veteran Bernard Jordan, who masterminded a ‘great escape’ from his care home in order to attend the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in France.

Written by BAFTA-nominee William Ivory (Made in Dagenham, Truckers) and directed by BAFTA-nominee Oliver Parker (Johnny English Reborn (2011), St. Trinian’s), the film stars Michael Caine (Children of Men (2006), King of Thieves (2018)) as Bernard Jordan and Glenda Jackson (Elizabeth R (1971), Women in Love) as his wife Irene in her last role.

Production visited Dover to film at the Port of Dover ferry terminal, as well as on Abbot’s Cliff and Folkestone Road.

The Port of Dover is the busiest passenger port in Europe and includes a freight terminal, two cruise terminals, a yachting marina, harbour wall, lighthouses and seafront promenade. Recent productions to have filmed there include After Love (2021), Season 1 of The Rook (2019), and Next of Kin (2018).

Situated between Folkestone and Dover, Abbot’s Cliff comprises of a WWII sound mirror and isolated single-track lane on top of white cliffs. Back to Life (2019-2021), King Lear (2018) and King of Thieves (2018) also filmed here.

The Great Escaper (2023) will be releasing in UK cinemas on Friday 6th October.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.  

Back to Life Series 1 and 2 (2019 – 2021)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Daisy Haggard as Miri Matteson is sat on a bench on a pebbled beach with Adeel Akhtar as Billy. She has long hair blowing in the wind and is holding her phone and a sandwich. She is wearing a green anorak and black leggings. Adeel has black hair and a beard and wears a brown jacket and blue jeans.

Miri Matteson (Daisy Haggard), Billy (Adeel Akhtar) in Back to Life Series 2 (2021) in Hythe © SHOWTIME

Writer: Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon
Director: Christopher Sweeney
Starring: Daisy Haggard, Geraldine James, Jamie Michie, and Christine Bottomley
Production Company: BBC Studios
Kent locations used: Dungeness, Abbot’s Cliff in Dover, Folkstone Harbour Arm, Hythe, Lydd-on-Sea

BBC3 comedy drama Back to Life (2019-) follows Miranda ‘Miri’ Matteson (Daisy Haggard Breeders Series 2 (2021), Hilda) who has just been released from prison, having spent a decade behind bars. In Series One she is desperate to go straight and move on with her life.

In Series Two Miri starts a relationship with her neighbour Billy (Adeel Akhtar (Victoria and Abdul (2017)), but all is not plain sailing as a body is washed up on the beach and she becomes the prime suspect.

The series was directed by Christopher Sweeney (Parental Advisory: Disciplinary Measures, Women are from Mars), is written by Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon, and stars Daisy Haggard (Black Mirror, Outnumbered), Geraldine James (Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes), Jamie Michie (Game of Thrones, The Outlaw King) and Christine Bottomley (Hard Sun, The End of the F***ing World).

The series is set in in the small seaside town of Hythe, and filming for both series took place along the seafront, including various scenes at the beach promenade on West Parade, and a cycling sequence on the promenade at Princes Parade. In Series 2, Hythe High Street is pictured in various scenes, including Caroline (Geraldine James) and Oscar’s (Richard Durden) litter-picking crusade and when Lara’s father John (Adrian Edmondson) leads a procession of mourners through the town.

For Series One, production filmed in locations across Dungeness, including Dungeness Estate and the Britannia Pub Inn. Lydd on Sea’s Lade Car Park also features in both series; in Series One it plays host to a Fish & Chips van, and in Series Two it became the driving school where Miri takes her practical test. Dungeness has played host to several recent TV productions including Brave New World (2020), The Third Day (2020) and Fantasy Homes by the Sea – Series 7 (2018).

Folkestone’s Harbour Arm features in several episodes of Series Two, with the lighthouse becoming the site of an untimely and mysterious death. The Folkestone & Hythe district of Kent has 26 miles of beaches and is a popular location for filming, recently appearing in Flesh and Blood (2020) and Queens of Mystery (2019).

Abbot’s Cliff in Dover features in both series as the site of a tragic death.

Series One aired on BBC 3 on Monday 15th April 2019 and is currently available on iplayer.

Series Two airs weekly on BBC One from Tuesday 31 August at 10.35pm and will be available on BBC iPlayer from the same date.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

King Lear (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Portrait shot of character King Lear sitting on a chair with his three daughters by his side in the palace. Background is black and white chequered floor with black wall panels.

King Lear and his three daughters ©BBC

 

Director: Richard Eyre

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Florence Pugh, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott, John Macmillan, Jim Carter, Christopher Eccleston, Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf and Karl Johnson

Production Company: Playground Entertainment, Amazon Studios and BBC

Kent Locations Used: Dover

King Lear is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film tells the tragic story of King Lear (Anthony Hopkins) who abdicates his throne in favour of his two corrupt daughters Regan (Emily Watson) and Goneril (Emma Thompson), rejecting his loving and honest third daughter Cordelia (Florence Pugh) when she fails his test of flattery.

Director, Richard Eyre, has previously worked on films Notes on a Scandal, Iris, and Stage Beauty. Anthony Hopkins who plays King Lear, is best known for his role in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hitchcock. Emma Thompson as eldest daughter Goneril, was previously in Love Actually and The Remains of the Day.

Scenes were filmed in various locations in Dover, such as at Dover Castle, Samphire Hoe, and Abbot’s Cliff.

King Lear will air on Monday 28 May 2018 at 9:30pm on BBC Two.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.