Celtic Films Entertainment

Born a King (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Film poster depicting Abdullah Ali as the young Faisal, Hermione Corfield as a young Princess Mary and Ed Skrein as Philby above a reflection of the Houses of Parliament in the Thames

Born a King poster © Celtic Films Entertainment

Writer: Henry Fitzherbert, Bader Al Samari, Ray Loriga
Director: Agusti Villaronga
Starring: Abdullah Ali, Ed Skrein, Hermione Corfield, Kenneth Cranham
Production Company: Arena Audiovisual, Celtic Films Entertainment
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Born a King (2019) is the real life, coming-of-age story of Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who was sent to London in 1919 by his father to gather support for Saudi Arabia as a sovereign country. He was the first Saudi Prince to visit the UK and at 14 was entrusted to negotiate with some of the pre-eminent figures of the age; Lord Curzon (Kenneth Cranham) and Winston Churchill (Celyn Jones). He befriends Princess Mary (Hermione Corfield) who helps guide him through the corridors of power.

Born a King was directed by Agusti Villaronga (Black Bread, Uncertain Glory) and written by Henry Fitzherbert (Love & Friendship, Slaughterhouse Rulez), Bader Al Samari and Ray Loriga (Theresa: The Body of Christ, Ausentes). The film introduces Abdullah Ali as Faisal, and stars Ed Skrein (Deadpool, The Model) as Philby, Hermione Corfield (The Halcyon, Rust Creek) as Princess Mary and Kenneth Cranham (Maleficent, The White Princess) as Lord Curzon.

Anchor Wharf at The Historic Dockyard Chatham doubles as Plymouth Docks in the film, in a scene where Prince Faisal arrives in England and is greeted by the press and government officials.

Set over 80 acres on the River Medway and with more than 100 Victorian and Georgian buildings, The Historic Dockyard Chatham is one of Kent’s most popular film locations. The site has previously featured in Mr Turner (2014), Victoria and Abdul (2017) and The Mercy (2018).

Born a King (2019) was released in Saudi Arabia on Thursday 26th September 2019 and is available to watch on Amazon in the UK.

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

The Soul of a Spy (Dusha Shpiona) (2015)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Andrey Chernyshov as Alex Wilkie and Malcolm McDowell as Henry stand in front of a black-and-white image of Tower Bridge in London. Chernyshov wears a trenchcoat, white shirt and blue, red and whitestriped tie. McDowell wears a chequered tweed jacket, blue jumper, white shirt and black bow tie. The two men look sternly off into the distance.

Andrey Chernyshov and Malcolm McDowell in The Soul of a Spy (2015) © Three T Productions

Director: Vladimir Bortko
Starring: Andrey Chernyshov, Elo Cinquanta, Fedor Bondarchuk, Liam Cunningham
Production Company: Three T Productions, Celtic Films Entertainment, Fluid Company, Studio 2-B-2 Entertainment, Zak Productions
Kent Locations Used: Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Royal Temple Yacht Club

The Soul of a Spy (2015) is a Russian language spy thriller following an Intelligence Officer who, after being assigned to a job in London, finds that bribery, blackmail and murder are all part of the job.

Directed by Vladimir Bortko (Idiot, The Master and Margarita), the film stars Andrey Chernyshov (Tankers, The Man Without a Past) as Alex Wilkie, Elo Cinquanta (Vasectomia, 8 Marvels of the World) as Katia, Fedor Bondarchuk (9th Company, Sputnik) as Zasuhin and Liam Cunningham (Jude (1996), Electric Dreams: Crazy Diamond (2017)) as Hillsman.

The production visited Kent to film various scenes in and around Ramsgate Royal Harbour as well as just offshore.

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 to film there including Not Going Out – Series 6 (2013), The Calling (2009) and Hancock and Joan (2008).

The Soul of a Spy (2015) debuted at Montréal World Film Festival on Friday 28th August 2015 and is now available to stream on Google Play.

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