Danny Boyle: Pages of the Sea this Remembrance Sunday (2018)

Director Danny Boyle's programme poster for Pages of the Sea- image of soldier in the sand with the sea washing up against it.

Danny Boyle: Pages of the Sea ©14-18 NOW

On 11 November 2018, communities will gather on beaches across the UK to say thank you and goodbye to the millions of men and women who left our shores during WWI. In Pages of the Sea, film-maker Danny Boyle invites you to join him in marking the 100 years anniversary of Armistice and the end of the war.

Director of the London Olympics Opening Ceremony, Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire 2008, Shallow Grave 1994) announced his new project from the Sunny Sands in Folkestone, where approximately 10 million men and women departed during the First World War, many never to return. The event will take place between dawn and 10.45am on November 11th 2018 and the public are invited to gather on beaches across the UK for an informal nationwide gesture of remembrance.

Speaking to Kent Online, Danny Boyle said, “You can stand here on the beach in Folkestone and imagine what they were all feeling and imagining as they were getting ready to leave and thinking about what they were facing.”

Image of Danny Boyle smiling at the camera in a white shirt on Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone, sea and path can be seen in background

Filmmaker Danny Boyle © 14-18 NOW

Various events will be taking place on the beach. A portrait of Wilfred Owen will emerge from the sands, and as the tide rises, it will be washed away, and a moment will be taken to say a collective goodbye.  Carol Ann Duffy has written a poem especially for the moment – The Wound in Time.  The public is also invited to explore an online gallery of portraits of some of the men and women who served in the First World War.

The event will be filmed live on Sunday 11th November at 10.45am.

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


Queen of Spain (2018)

Two young boys stand in an english garden with a manor house behind. They are stood with bicycles and a butterfly net

Queen of Spain © Theo Lowenstein

Writer: Stephen Lowenstein and Greer Ellison
Director: Stephen Lowenstein
Starring: Miles Richardson, Jordan Long, Karen Lewis
Production Company: Blue Shadows Films, I Spy Films
Kent Locations Used: Hartlip Place in Sittingbourne, Barrows Antiques in Faversham, Queendown Warren in Sittingbourne

Queen of Spain is a coming of age story set in the world of butterfly collectors on the eve of the First World War. A thirteen-year-old boy spots one of the rarest butterfly species ever to be seen on the British Isles.

Queen of Spain is a short drama starring Miles Richardson (Peterloo (2018), The Crown (2016-2020)), Jordan Long (The Nevers (2021), Temple (2021)) and Karen Lewis-Attenborough (Grange Hill, The Bill). The story is by Stephen Lowenstein and was developed by Greer Ellison.

Various scenes for Queen of Spain were filmed around Kent; Georgian house Hartlip Place in Sittingbourne was used to shoot its mature garden as well as a private residence in the area for some interior scenes. Barrows Antiques in Faversham features in a small yet poignant scene where a confrontation takes place between the protagonist and the local butcher boy, who has “abducted” his butterfly. Queen Down Warren in Sittingbourne was chosen for its beautiful woods and wild flower meadow paths, which feature with the protagonist hunting butterflies.

Faversham is a beautiful historic market town in the Swale Borough of Kent. The historic town boasts over 500 listed buildings and there are many beautiful walks the picturesque countryside has to offer. Previous productions in the town include Hetty Feather Series 3 (2017) and Walks With My Dog (2017).

Sittingbourne, also in the Swale district, offers town areas, flat open landscapes and beautiful beach areas. Southcliffe (2013), Great Expectations (2012) and The Sweeney (2012) have previously been filmed in Swale.

Queen of Spain is due to be released in the UK on 25 February 2018.

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


Upstairs Downstairs – The Sudden Storm (1974)

The cast of Upstairs, Downstairs standing behind a sign that reads Upstairs, Downstairs

Upstairs, Downstairs © London Weekend Television (LWT)

Creator: Eileen Atkins
Starring: Angela Baddeley, Jean Marsh, Meg Wynn Owen, Simon Williams, David Langton, Gordon Jackson
Production Company: London Weekend Television (LWT), Sagitta Productions Ltd.
Kent Locations: Herne Bay

Upstairs, Downstairs (1971-1975) was an ITV drama series set in a townhouse in Belgravia which charts the lives of the wealthy Bellamy family and their servants during the First World War and the interwar years.

The show which ran between 1971 and 1975, stars Jean Marsh (Willow, Frenzy), Angela Baddeley (Tom Jones, The Speckled Band), Meg Wynn Owen (Pride & Prejudice, Gosford Park), Simon Williams (Kinvig, Jabberwocky), David Langton (The Whistle Blower, Quintet) and Gordon Jackson (The Professionals, The Great Escape).

Herne Bay, including the beach by the former pier and Central Bandstand, features in series three, episode thirteen “The Sudden Storm”, when the staff take a day out to the seaside.

Located near to Canterbury, Herne Bay has a delightful beach with a bandstand and seafront gardens, as well as many shops and eateries, amusement arcades, and a windmill. The area has previously featured in filming projects such as Boomers (2014), Little Britain – Season 1 (2003) and The Medusa Touch (1978).

Upstairs, Downstairs “The Sudden Storm” (1974) was shown on Saturday 19th January 1974 and is available to watch on ITVX.

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