Leysdown

Kiss Me First (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
animated Image of character Leila outside in a field

Image of Leila from Kiss Me First Movie © Channel 4

 

Writer: Bryan Elsley

Director: Misha Manson-Smith

Starring: Simona Brown, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Misha Butler, Matthew Aubrey, Haruka Abe

Production Company: Balloon Entertainment and Balloon

Kent Locations Used: Shellness, Leysdown

Based upon Lottie Moggach’s young adult novel of the same name, Kiss Me First is about Leila, a lonely girl who finds solace in the online game Agora. She befriends fellow player Tess, a cool and confident party girl. When Tess suddenly disappears, Leila assumes her friend’s identity.

Starring Simona Brown (The Night Manager) as Tess and Tallulah Rose Haddon (Taboo) as Leila, the series was adapted by and produced by Bryan Elsley (Skins) through his production company Balloon.

The Shellness Road Car Park was used in a sequence in which one character uses a pipe bomb to blow up his abusive carers. A further scene was filmed on Leysdown Promenade showing the arrival by one of the leads on a bus. Isle of Sheppey is a coastal town on the Isle of Sheppey, where previously, Channel 4 show The End of the F***ing World (2017-) and the film adaptation of the Sweeny (2012) we also shot.

Kiss Me First is expected to air on Channel 4 on Monday 02 April 2018 at 9pm.

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

The End of the F***ing World (2017)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
James and Alyssa sitting on bench looking forward with woods in background

The End of the F***ing World: – Alex Lawther as James. Jessica Barden as Alyssa. – © Clerkenwell Films / Channel 4 Television

Writer: Charlie Covell, Chuck Forsman

Director: Jonathan Entwistle, Lucy Tcherniak

Starring: Jessica Barden, Alex Lawther

Production Company: Clerkenwell Films, Dominic Buchanan Productions

Kent Locations Used: Isle of Sheppey, Isle of Sheppey

New Channel 4 comedy-drama series ‘The End of the F****** World’ follows two teenage outsiders, James (Alex Lawther) and Alyssa (Jessica Barden), who escape their families to embark on a road trip to find Alyssa’s father. The pair end up getting caught up in a series of violent events and find themselves on a path of discovery.

Alyssa and James sitting at diner table ordering from waitress

The End of the F***ing World: – Alex Lawther as James. Jessica Barden as Alyssa. Juliet Cowan as Diner Waitress – © Clerkenwell Films / Channel 4 Television

The series was written by Charlie Covell (Banana, Forget Me Not) and Chuck Forsman (TEOTFW- 2014). It was directed by Jonathan Entwistle (TEOTFW – 2014) and Lucy Tcherniak (Lay Me Down). The cast is led by Jessica Barden (Coronation Street), and Alex Lawther (Black Mirror).

The series filmed in and around Leysdown on Sea on the Isle of Sheppey, which was part of Entwistle’s attempt at American style filmmaking in a British setting. Writer, Covell, during an interview described how they were trying to find locations which weren’t ‘quintessentially British’, which is why they chose the Isle of Sheppey as the location.

Isle of Sheppey is a coastal village on the east side of the Isle of Sheppey in the Borough of Swale in Kent. Previously, projects such as Hunted (2016) and The Sweeney (2012) featured the Isle of Sheppey.

‘The End of the F****** World’ begins on the 24th of October 2017 at 10:20pm on Channel 4 and all episodes are available on All4.

 

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

 

 

Strawberry Fields (2012)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Strawberry Fields Film Poster- Strawberry Fields written in pink with a montage of images of the cast members and clips from the film

Strawberry Fields Film Poster

Director: Frances Lea

Writer: Frances Lea and Judith Johnson 

Starring: Emun Elliott, Philip Martin Brown and Anna Madeley

Production Companies: BBC Films, Film London, Spring Pictures

Kent Filming Locations: Foxbury Farm, Sevenoaks; Shellness, Leysdown

Strawberry Fields is another offering from the highly successful Film London Microwave Project and set for cinema release this week!

Directed by Frances Lea (Fugee Girl, Everyone’s Happy), Strawberry Fields is a tale of sibling rivalry and playing of mind games set in the strawberry fields of Kent. Starring Anna Madeley (In Bruges) Christine Bottomley (The Arbor, Shameless) and Emun Elliott (Prometheus, Game of Thrones) the film tells of the sexual awakening of Gillian during a long, hot British summer picking strawberries, where she meets and falls in love with fellow picker Kevin. But her idyllic new life is jeopardised by the arrival of her sister Emily.

 This ‘terrific British debut’, (Jason Solomons, The Observer)   is released across the UK this week. There will be a special preview at BFI Southbank on 4 July. The film will also be shown at the London Film Festival in October this year.

Making the most of what Kent has to offer, Strawberry Fields features locations in the Kent countryside such as Foxbury Farm in Sevenoaks, Groombridge Railway Station and the Isle of Sheppey.

The Isle of Sheppey boasts some unique landscapes, such as salt marshes and shell beaches that have attracted many previous filmmakers, such as The Hide (2009) and Great Expectations (1989).

Foxbury Farm is a large fruit grower in Sevenoaks and was a new find for this project.

Strawberry Fields was screened at selected cinemas in Summer 2012 and will be shown on Saturday 20th July 2013 at 23:00 on BBC 2.

 

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