Anna Friel

Sulphur and White (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Mark Stanley (David Tait) wearing a brown jacket and Emily Beecham (Vanessa Tait) wearing a blue floral dress, looking at each other with greenery and sky behind them.

Mark Stanley (David Tait) and Emily Beecham (Vanessa Tait) in Sulphur and White (2020)    Copyright: IMDb Photo: Nick Wall

Writer: Susie Farrell
Director: Julian Jarrold
Starring: Mark Stanley, Emily Beecham, Anna Friel, Dougray Scott, Aftab Shivdasani
Production Companies: AMG International, EMU Films
Kent Locations Used: Thanet (Joss Bay, Kingsgate Bay, Botany Bay)

Feature film Sulphur and White (2020) is inspired by the true story of David Tait (Mark Stanley), a city trader and mountaineer, who tries to forget his traumatic childhood as he climbs the corporate ladder in the City Of London. When he meets Vanessa (Emily Beecham), David’s life begins to change.

Sulphur and White is directed by the award winning Julian Jarrold (Kinky Boots, Becoming Jane) and the screenplay was written by Susie Farrell (Dirty God). It stars Mark Stanley (Game of Thrones, Run) as David Tait and Emily Beechman (Daphne, Hail, Caesar!) as Vanessa. Co-stars also include Anna Friel (Marcella, Deep Water), Dougray Scott (EverAfter, Hitman) and Aftab Shivdasani (Mast, Kasoor).

Filming took place in Thanet, a district of Kent containing resort towns Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs with beautiful beaches.

The production visited Joss Bay in Broadstairs, a proclaimed surfer’s paradise, boasting a 200 metre-long stretch of sandy beach. Kingsgate Bay and Botany Bay afford incredible views of white cliffs and highly photographed white chalk stacks.

These coastal locations have attracted various film and TV productions over the years from French coming-of-age film À nous les petites Anglaises (1976), Mr Selfridge Series 4 (2016), Bhikari (2017) to most recently Dracula (2020).

Sulphur and White will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 6th March 2020.

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

Marcella (2016)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Anna Friel as Marcella sitting on a bed hugging her knees

Anna Friel as Marcella © ITV

Director: Charles Martin, Andrew Woodhead

Writer: Hans Rosenfeldt

Starring: Anna Friel, Laura Carmichael, Nicholas Pinnock, Ian Puleston-Davies, Nina Sosanya, Ray Panthaki, Jamie Bamber, Sinead Cusack, Patrick Baladi, Harry Lloyd

Production Company: Buccaneer Media

Kent Locations Used: The Port of Dover

This brand new eight part ITV noir thriller centres around Marcella (Anna Friel), who finds herself heartbroken when her husband leaves her unexpectedly and isolated from her children. After deciding to return to the Metropolitan Police following a 10 year break, she instantly becomes involved with a serial killer case she worked on in 2005. Marcella finds herself looking for answers to both her work and personal life, but will she find what she is seeking?

The series is written by internationally renowned screenwriter and novelist Hans Rosenfeldt (Rederiet, The Bridge) and directed by Charles Martin (Skins, The Returned) and Andrew Woodhead (Fortitude, Law & Order: UK).

Marcellacast reading their scripts

Marcella Readthrough © BUCCANEER MEDIA FOR ITV

Starring alongside Anna Friel (Limitless, Land of the Lost, London Boulevard) as Marcella is Laura Carmichael (Downton Abbey, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Nicholas Pinnock (Fortitude, Captain America), Ian Puleston-Davies (Coronation Street, Being Human), Nina Sosanya (W1A, Last Tango in Halifax), Ray Panthaki (Eastenders, Convenience), Jamie Bamber (Law & Order: UK, Battlestar Galactica), Sinead Cusack (Jekyll and Hyde, Eastern Promises), Patrick Baladi (The Office, Mistresses) and Harry Lloyd (Game of Thrones, The Theory of Everything).

The production visited Kent for one day to film at The Port of Dover where a police officer finds an abandoned car.

The Port of Dover is the UK’s busiest passenger port, with the town also boasting Dover Castle and the infamous White Cliffs of Dover. The Dover area has previously featured on screen in The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016), Wolf Hall (2015) and Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011).

Don’t miss Marcella aired from Monday 4th April 2016 at 21:00 on ITV1.

 

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

 

Our Mutual Friend (1998)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) and Mortimer Lightwood (Dominic Mafham) standing behind a wooden deck, wooden boats that are upside down can be seen behind them

Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) and Mortimer Lightwood (Dominic Mafham) © BBC

Directed by: Julian Farino

Produced By: Caroline Wearing

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Sandy Welch (Adaptation)

Starring: Keeley Hawes, Paul McGann, Anna Friel, David Morrissey & Steven Mackintosh

Production Company: BBC

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, River Medway

Our Mutual Friend was Charles Dickens’ last complete novel. It was written in 1864-1865 when he was at the height of his fame having recently published A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. The main theme of the novel is money and the effect that it can have on personal values and relationships.  At it’s very core is the love triangle between repressed schoolteacher Bradley Headstone (David Morrissey – Thorne: Sleepyhead), his rival Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann – New Tricks)and their shared love interest Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes – Upstairs Downstairs).

When  John Harmon, a young man whose inheritance is dependent on his marrying a woman he has never met, is found dead in the Thames, his fortune is passed onto the Boffin family who take both Harmon’s would-be bride Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies) and mysterious secretary Rokesmith (Steven Mackintosh – Camelot) into their home. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam’s father is accused of Harmon’s murder and she is relentlessly pursued by her two suitors.

close up of Lizzie Hexam wearing a hood with a lantern behind her

Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes) © BBC

Filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, the location was used for the bleak side streets surrounding the workhouse. Charles Dickens’ father worked as a Naval Pay Officer at the Dockyard and it was here that Dickens developed a love of the sea, accompanying his father as a young boy. Later, these childhood adventures were a source of inspiration for novels such as Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend.

The Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer that is based at The Historic Dockyard Chatham was also used for filming the scene where Bella Wilfer and the Boffin family go for a day out.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham dates back to the 17th century and contains over 100 buildings from the Georgian and Victorian periods. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location that has previously featured on screen in Suffragette (2015) and Les Miserables (2013).

Dickens has a rich history with Kent and the Kent Film Office celebrates Dickens history with the county including TV and film adaptions in The Dickens Trail which launched in 2012.

Our Mutual Friend aired on the BBC in March 1998 and is now available on DVD.

 

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