Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023)

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Kent Film Office

Idris Elba as Luther stands on a snowy mountaintop against a sunset sky. He wears a pale blue shirt, red tie, navy trousers and a grey trench coat.

Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023) © BBC Films

Director: Jamie Payne
Writer: Neil Cross
Starring: Idris Elba, Andy Serkis, Cynthia Erivo, Dermot Crowley
Production Company: BBC Films, BBC Studios, Chernin Entertainment
Kent Locations Used: Port of Dover Ferry Terminal, White Cliffs of Dover

Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023) is a feature film of of the popular BBC TV series of the same name. Taunted by the psychopath he could never catch and stuck inside a prison cell, disgraced detective John Luther decides to break out and finish the job once and for all.

Directed by Jamie Payne (Outlander, Primeval), and written by series creator Neil Cross (The Fixer (2008), Hard Sun (2018)), the film stars Idris Elba (Yardie (2018), In the Long Run (2019)) as John Luther, Andy Serkis (Burke and Hare (2010), The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself (2022)) as David Robey, Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Widows) as Odette Raine and Dermot Crowley (The Death of Stalin, The Foreigner) as DSU Martin Shenk.

Production visited Kent to film scenes at the Port of Dover ferry terminal where Luther follows the psychopath Robey to Norway, as well as the White Cliffs of Dover – although this scene didn’t make the final cut.

The Port of Dover is the busiest passenger port in Europe, and includes a freight terminal, two cruise terminals, yachting marina, harbour wall, lighthouses and a seafront promenade. The Port has featured in many productions, including After Love (2021), Series 1 of The Rook (2019) and Next of Kin (2018).

The White Cliffs of Dover are an iconic lan affording spectacular views across the Channel and of dmark, Dover Castle. Other productions to have filmed there include Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows (2011), Missing (2009-2010) and On a Clear Day (2005).

Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023) will be released in select UK cinemas on Friday 24^th February and will release on Netflix on Friday 10^th March 2023.

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

The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (2022)

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Kent Film Office

Three characters stand in a misty wood. On the left stands a woman with long brown hair. She is wearing blue jeans, a red baggy hoody and a green stripy crop top. The man in the middle has short black hair and wears black tracksuit trousers, a dishevelled white t-shirt and a black oversized jacket. His hand is wrapped in a bandage. The man on the right had silver hair and wears black cargo trousers, a black trench coat, grey t-shirt and several silver necklaces.

The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself © Netflix

Writer: Joe Barton
Director: Colm McCarthy
Starring: Jay Lycurgo, Nadia Parkes, Isobel Jesper Jones, Emilien Vekemans
Production Company: Imaginarium Productions
Kent Locations Used: Port of Ramsgate and Ramsgate Royal Harbour

Based on the ‘Half Bad’ series of books by author Sally Green, The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself (2022) is a young adult tale about a sixteen-year-old boy called Nathan, who is the illegitimate son of the most powerful and cruel Witch in the world. Monitored all his life by those who wish to stop him from following in his father’s footsteps, Nathan soon begins to question the rules that have been imposed on him. In a world where one is either a “Good” Witch, or a “Bad” Witch, Nathan must discover what kind of person he truly is.

Directed by Colm McCarthy (The Girl with All the Gifts, Black Mirror: Black Museum), and with Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) as an executive producer, The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself stars Jay Lycurgo (Titans, Cheaters) as Nathan, Nadia Parkes (The Spanish Princess, Domina) as Annalise, Isobel Jesper Jones as Jessica and Emilien Vekemans as Gabriel.

The production visited the Port of Ramsgate and the Royal Harbour of Ramsgate during filming of the eight-episode series for Netflix. Both locations feature in Episode 4, doubling as the French harbour where Nathan, Annalise and Gabriel walk through a magic portal into Paris. The Port of Ramsgate is set on 32 acres of dedicated port land and is often used as a ‘stand-in’ for film and TV as the Port of Dover. Other productions that have filmed here include the SKY crime-drama series The Tunnel (2013) and, more recently, the Acorn TV crime-drama series Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022).

Ramsgate has the only Royal Harbour in the country, decreed by King George IV in 1821 due to his fondness of the friendly locals he met there. Often used as a double for London, Ramsgate is a popular filming location, with previous productions such as the BBC comedy series Not Going Out (2013) making use of the marina, and the Netflix crime-drama series Top Boy (2019-2022) using the iconic Jacobs Ladder steps in the harbour, as well as several other locations within the town.

The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself was released on Netflix on Friday 28th October 2022.

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

Burke and Hare (2010)

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Kent Film Office

Chair on set during the filming of Burke and Hare at Knole Park. Chair reads Burke & Hare

Chair on set during the filming of Burke and Hare at Knole, Kent © NTPL Megan Taylor

Director: John Landis
Writers: Piers Ashworth, Nick Moorcroft
Starring: Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Isla Fisher
Production Company: Ealing Studios, Fragile Films
Kent Locations: Knole House

Based on true-life characters of William Burke and William Hare, this black comedy has an all-star cast including Simon Pegg (The Good Night (2008), Hot Fuzz), Andy Serkis (War for the Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers, Confessions of a Shopaholic) and is directed by the legendary John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Schlock). It tells the story of the two infamous but hapless nineteenth Century serial murderers, who discovered the lucrative trade of supplying cadavers to the medical community in Edinburgh. Burke and Hare find themselves unable to meet demand and start murdering people to keep up the supply.

Burke and Hare (2010) includes scenes filmed at Knole House, near Sevenoaks, which on a cold February day was transformed into a lively Edinburgh market.

Knole House is a popular filming location, having also provided locations for Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides (2011), Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows (2011) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).

Burke and Hare (2010) was released in UK cinemas on Friday 29th October 2010, and is now available to purchase on DVD.

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

Inkheart (2008)

Posted on February 4, 2008 by Kent Film Office

Silvertongue reading to a young Meggie. Both on green armchairs with a table in between them. Bookshelves can be seen behind.

Director: Iain Softly

Starring: Helen Mirren, Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettan

Production Company: New Line Cinema, Internationale Filmproduktion Blackbird Erste

Kent locations used: Hever Castle

Based on the best selling novel by Cornelia Funke, Inkheart is about Mo ‘Silvertongue’ Folchart (Brendan Fraser – The Mummy) who has a special gift when reading aloud: the characters come to life. One night, he unknowingly brings to life three characters from a novel entitled Inkheart who kidnap him. Now it is up to Mo’s daughter Meggie (Eliza Bennett – Nanny McPhee) and her great-aunt Eleanor (Helen Mirren – The Queen) to rescue him from the cruel dictator Capricorn (Andy Serkis, Lord of the Rings) and return the characters back to the pages of Inkheart. Alongside her real and fictional friends, Meggie learns the importance of family and having a place to call home.


Andy Serkis in Inkheart © Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd. Photo: Close Murray	Helen Mirren © Entertainment Film Distributors Ltd. Photo: Close Murray

Directed by Iain Softly (Hackers, The Skeleton Key) and featuring an all-star cast, Helen Mirren (Calendar Girls, The Queen) Brendan Fraser (George of the Jungle, Journey to the Center of the Earth), Jim Broadbent (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Moulin Rouge!) Paul Bettany (A Knight’s Tale, Wimbledon) and Eliza Bennett (The Prince and Me, Nanny McPhee).

Hever Castle was used for three weeks for the filming of Inkheart, transforming the historical site into the Italian lakeside home of Great Aunt Elinor as the historical home of Anne Boleyn and the beautiful Italian gardens complete with a lake were ideal for this family-orientated fantasy film.

Hever Castle is a thirteenth century Tudor castle near Edenbridge, Hever which was originally the home of the Boleyn family. Hever Castle is a popular filming location with its stunning Italianate gardens, beautiful lake and a mock Tudor village. Hever Castle has also be used for other productions such as Walking through History (2013), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and Anne of a Thousand Days (1969).

Inkheart was released in cinemas in December 2008 and can now be bought on DVD.

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

Kent's Premier Film Commission