Blitz

Blitz (2024)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Saoirse Ronan as Rita hugging Elliott Heffernan as George. Their images are dissolving into daisies. On the right-hand side of the image is the AppleTV logo and the word Blitz.

Blitz (2024) © AppleTV

Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Elliott Heffernan, Harris Dickinson, Kathy Burke, Paul Weller, Stephen Graham
Production Company: Apple Studios, Lammas Park, New Regency Productions, Working Title Films
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Blitz (2024) is a historical drama following a defiant young boy who, refusing to be separated from his mother, escapes from his evacuation to the countryside to make his way back. Hearing her boy is missing, his distressed mother begins her own search for him.

Directed by Steve McQueen (Small Axe (2020), 12 Years a Slave), the film stars Saoirse Ronan (Ammonite (2020), Mary Queen of Scots (2018)) as Rita, Elliott Heffernan in his debut as George, Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats, Triangle of Sadness) as Jack, Kathy Burke (Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as Beryl, Paul Weller (Grosse Pointe Blank, Spider-Man: Far from Home) as Gerald and Stephen Graham (Boiling Point, This Is England).

Production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham to film various scenes in the Ropery buildings and Museum Square to double for London ravaged by bombs during the Blitz.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular filming locations. Set on the River Medway, the Dockyard spans over 80 acres, containing over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian periods. Other recent productions to have filmed at the Dockyard include Loki – Season 2 (2023), Secret Invasion (2023) and Living (2022).

Blitz (2024) will be released in UK Cinemas on Friday 1st November 2024 and will then be available to stream on AppleTV on Friday 22nd November 2024.

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

Summerland (2020)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

Writer: Jessica Swale
Director: Jessica Swale
Starring: Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Penelope Wilton, Tom Courtenay
Production Company: British Film Institute, Quickfire Films
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Dover Castle

Set during WWII, Summerland (2020) is a period drama from writer and first time director Jessica Swale (Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans, Leading Lady Parts) which tells the story of reclusive writer Alice (Gemma Arterton) as she learns to open her heart to Frank (Lucas Bond), a young Blitz evacuee.

This BFI and Quickfire Films production features Gemma Arterton (St. Trinian’s, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time ) as Alice , Lucas Bond as Frank (The Cleansing Hour, The Miniaturist) alongside other cast members Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle 2013), Concussion 2015), Penelope Wilton (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel , Shaun of the Dead) and Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago, 45 Years).

Production for Swale’s directorial feature film debut visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham, making use of multiple areas at the location including; the exterior of the Captain’s House, Officers’ Terrace, Old Pay Office, Sail and Colour Loft and the Fitted Rigging House cellars on Anchor Wharf. The exterior of the medieval Dover Castle makes a small cameo in the film in a dream-like scene.

Set on the River Medway The Historic Dockyard Chatham was once an active Royal Navy shipyard and is a popular Kent filming location, especially for period dramas looking for London street doubles. Recent productions include Hetty Feather (2015-2020), Call the Midwife (2012-2020) and Pagalpanti (2019).

Dover Castle towers above Dover town, signalling Dover’s strategic importance in the defence of the country in World War Two. Other feature films shot at Dover Castle include Christopher Robin (2018), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) and Into the Woods (2015).

Summerland was released in UK cinemas and Amazon Prime Video Cinema on Friday 31st July 2020.

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

Murder on the Home Front (2013)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Murder on the Home Front characters standing on a London Street facing the camera

Murder on the Home Front © ITV

Starring: Patrick Kennedy, Tamzin Merchant, James Fleet, Emerald Fennell

Production company: Carnival Films

Kent Locations:  The Historic Dockyard

Murder on the Home Front is a new two part ITV drama set  in London during the Blitz and is loosely based on the memoirs of Molly Lefebure, a secretary to Home Office Pathologist Keith Simpson. It documents the different crimes committed in London at the time by individuals who used the distractions and devastation of the war to conceal their actionsr.

Murder on the Home Front features many familiar faces, including Patrick Kennedy (Boardwalk Empire, Parade’s End) and Tamzin Merchant (Jane Eyre, The Tudors) as well as James Fleet (Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Vicar of Dibley) and Emerald Fennell (Any Human Heart, Anna Karenina).

The Historic Dockyard in Chatham was used to re-create the London streets of World War II. Thanks to its authentic and historic exterior, the The Historic Dockyard in Chatham has often used as a location for productions such as Call the Midwife (2012-2013), Les Misérables (2012) and Sherlock Holmes (2009).

Don’t miss the first episode of Murder on the Home Front which airs on Thursday 9th May 2013 on ITV1 at 21:00.

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