Film4

Living (2022)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Bill Nighy, as Williams, stands in front of a large, grey, historic courthouse building. He is wearing a black pinstripe suit, polka dot tie, and black bowler hat. He carries an umbrella in his hand and is looking at a watch on his wrist.

Bill Nighy in Living (2022) © Ross Ferguson

Director: Oliver Hermanus
Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp
Production Company: County Hall, Film4, Filmgate Films, Ingenious, Kurosawa Production Co., Lipsync Productions, Number 9 Films
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, King’s Theatre – Chatham

Living (2022) is an English-language adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film Ikiru by Kazuo Ishiguro, set in 1950s London.

Directed by Oliver Hermanus (Moffie, Beauty), Living stars Bill Nighy (The Boat that Rocked (2009), Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)) as Williams, Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education (2021), The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022)) as Margaret Harris and Alex Sharp (The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Hustle) as Peter Wakeling.

In June and July 2021, production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham to film various scenes. The exterior of the Lead and Paint Mill doubles as the bomb site which Williams later transforms into a playground, the Ropery alley doubles for the streets of London, and the Commissioner’s House Gardens doubles for St James’s Park in London.

A historic 17th-Century dockyard spanning over 80 acres, Chatham Dockyard contains over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian Periods. It is the most popular filming location in Kent, having played host to many high-profile films and TV shows. Most recently, Operation Mincemeat (2022), The Nevers (2021) and The Phantom of the Open (2022) shot various scenes on the site.

A group of people sit in an old-fashioned cinema.

Behind the scenes at King’s Theatre, Chatham. Alex Sharp, Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood with Spotlites staff © Spotlites

Filming also took place at King’s Theatre in Chatham, where Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood’s characters watch a film at the cinema. Chatham is a historic town situated in Medway, North Kent and is known for its historic dockyard, army barracks and high street. The Last Rite (2021) also filmed a short scene in Chatham town.

Living was released in UK cinemas on Friday 4th November 2022.

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

Suffragette (2015)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Suffragette film poster- The three sufragetters facing the camera with "The Time is Now" "Suffrafettes" written on top

Suffragette film poster © Pathe

Director: Sarah Gavron

Writer: Abi Morgan

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Anne-Marie Duff

Production Companies: Film4, BFI, Ingenious Media, Canal+, Ciné+, Ruby Films

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

Told through the eyes of a young mother, Suffragette is a powerful film about the foot soldiers of the suffragette movement in late 19th and early 20th century Britain. When peaceful protests fail, a group of suffragettes take radical moves to be heard, risking their jobs, homes, families and even their lives.

Carey Mulligan as Maud looking out of a window next to a vase of flowers

Carey Mulligan as Maud © Pathe

The film is directed by Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane, This Little Life) and written by Abi Morgan (Shame, The Iron Lady).

Featuring an all-star cast including Carey Mulligan (Drive, An Education), Helena Bonham Carter (Alice In Wonderland, Fight Club), Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, The Hours), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Cloud Atlas), Brendan Gleeson (Edge of Tomorrow, Troy) and Anne-Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy, Notes on a Scandal).

The production visited The Historic Dockyard Chatham for a week in February 2014 which doubled as the exterior to the Bethnal Green Laundry, a factory and a prison cell.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime heritage location set over an 80 acre site. The location boasts a variety of Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, cobbled streets, and industrial buildings. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location and has previously been seen on screen in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015) Our World War (2014) and Mr Selfridge (2012-2015).

Suffragette was released in cinemas on Monday 12th October 2015 and is now available for DVD and online purchase.

 

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

 

 

Mr Turner (2014)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Mr Turner (Timothy Spall) standing in front of a painting

Mr Turner © Entertainment One

Director/Writer: Mike Leigh

Starring: Timothy Spall, Paul Jesson, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Karl Johnson, Ruth Sheen, Lesley Manville

Production companies: Film4, Focus Features International, Lipsync ProductionsT, hin Man Films, Xofa Productions

Kent locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Stangate Creek

Mr Turner was written and directed by the acclaimed Mike Leigh and chronicles the last twenty-five years of one of the most celebrated artists in British history – J.M.W. Turner.

The biographical drama takes us back to the nineteenth century when Turner travelled and painted some of his renowned works, even though he was struggling with the death of his esteemed father. The film also highlights Turner’s eccentric behaviour which resulted in his being both celebrated and reviled by the public and royalty alike.

Mr Turner looking at a painting in his study. Paintings are also on the walls behind

Mr Turner © Entertainment One

Turner is played by BAFTA winner Timothy Spall (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The King’s Speech) and also stars Paul Jesson (Vera Drake, Rome), Dorothy Atkinson (Call the Midwife, All or Nothing), Marion Bailey (Persuasion, Meantime), Karl Johnson (The Illusionist, Hot Fuzz), Ruth Sheen (Run Fatboy Run, Vanity Fair) and Lesley Manville (Maleficent, Another Year).

The Mr Turner production visited The Historic Dockyard in Chatham where they used HMS Gannet which doubled for a pleasure vessel on the Thames as well as the scenes where Turner is tied to the mast of a ship in a storm to make some sketches for his painting Snow Storm- Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth.  Stangate Creek was also used to film a rowing scene.

Turner had a rich history with Kent and drew inspiration for his works from a variety of locations including Stangate Creek, Margate and Whitstable. Now, the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate celebrates Turner’s association with the area.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham  lies on the River Medway which boasts a dry dock, cobbled streets, industrial buildings and extraordinary Georgian and Victorian architecture. The location has previously featured on screen in productions such as Muppets Most Wanted (2014), Call The Midwife (2012-2014) and Sherlock Holmes (2009).

Stangate Creek is on the River Medway and has been used by feature film adaption Great Expectations (2012) as well as the BBC’s Great Expectations (1999).

Mr Turner is released in cinemas on Friday 31st October 2014.

 

 

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

Incendiary (2008)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Ewan McGregor getting out of a black car with people in a smokey background behind him

Ewan McGregor in Incendiary © Optimum Releasing

Writer/Director: Sharon Maguire

Stars: Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Matthew Macfadyen, Sidney Johnston

Production Company: Aramid Entertainment Fund ,Archer Street Productions ,Capitol Films ,Film4 ,Incendiary ,Sneak Preview Films,UK Film Council, Wild Bear Films

Kent Filming Locations: Metropolitan Police Training Ground, Gravesend

Incendiary is the heartbreaking story of a young wife and mother whose family falls victim to a terrorist attack when a bomb explodes during a football match. Watching the horrific events unfold before her eyes on TV, her feelings of are intensified by guilt, because at the time of the blast she was with another man. Anguished, she rejects her lover and seeks comfort from the officer investigating the incident.

Adapted from Chris Cleave’s controversial novel, Incendiary caused furore at the time of its release: appearing in bookshops only a week after the 7/7 attacks in London, the story seemed chillingly close to reality, causing major retailers to pull their marketing campaigns for the novel.

Michelle Williams and Sidney Johnson running on the beach

Michelle Williams and Sidney Johnson © Optimum Releasing

The film visited the Metropolitan Police training facilities near Gravesend to shoot the scenes under the football stadium, after the bomb has exploded.

Incendiary was released in cinemas in October 2008 and is now available on DVD.

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