Maggie Gyllenhaal

The Honourable Woman (2014)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Honourable Woman - Nessa Stein (Maggie Gyllenhaal) wearing a headscarf standing in a desert

The Honourable Woman © BBC/Drama Republic

Director and writer: Hugo Blick 

Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lubna Azabal, Eve Best, Andrew Buchan, Janet McTeer, Tobias Menzies, Genevieve O’Reilly, Katherine Parkinson, Stephen Rea

Production company: BBC Worldwide, Drama Republic, Eight Rooks, SundanceTV

Kent Locations: Cottage in New Romney, Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm, Dengemarsh Road, Romney Marsh

This BBC Two political thriller focuses on Nessa Stein (Gyllenhaal), a young woman who inherits her Zionist father’s weaponry business and gradually changes its purpose to laying data cables between Israel and the West Bank. As she continues to promote reconciliation between the Israelis and the Palestinians, she inevitably finds herself in the middle of a political maelstrom.

The eight part drama was written and directed by BAFTA recipient Hugo Blick (Up in Town, Sensitive Skin, The Shadow Line) and stars an award winning cast, including Maggie Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Secretary, The Dark Knight), Lubna Azabal (Incendies, Body of Lies), Eve Best (The King’s Speech, Much Ado About Nothing), Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch, Nowhere Boy), Janet McTeer (Parade’s End, Tumbleweeds), Tobias Menzies (Casino Royale, Game of Thrones), Genevieve O’Reilly (Episodes, Spooks), Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, The Boat That Rocked) and Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta, The Shadow Line).

In the summer of 2013, The Honourable Woman crew spent 2 days filming at several locations in the Romney Marsh area, including a cottage in New Romney, Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm, and Dengemarsh Road.

Romney Marsh in East Kent is a unique landscape of over 100 square miles of woodland, wetlands as well as sand and shingle shores. Many productions have taken advantage of this stunning area including Ginger and Rosa (2012), Great Expectations (2011) and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – Natural Causes (2006).

The Honourable Woman starts on BBC Two on Thursday July 3rd 2014 at 21:00. 

 

 

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

Waterland (1992)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Waterland Movie Poster- top image of a man standing in front of marshes facing the camera, bottom image of man and women embracing as a boy in a boat sits in the water behind them. Waterland is written in the middle of the images.

Waterland Movie Poster © Fine Line Features

Directed by: Stephen Gyllenhaal

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke, Sinéad Cusack,  Maggie Gyllenhaal

Production Company: British Screen Productions, Channel Four Films, Palace Pictures, Pandora Cinema

Kent Filming Locations Used: Doddington Place Gardens

Based on the 1983 novel of the same name, Waterland, by Graham Swift, discusses how the events in our youth can leave a damaging mark on our future.

Jeremy Irons  plays English born History teacher, Tom Crick whose family life begins to fall apart when his wife suffers a mental breakdown. Unable to connect with both his students and his wife, he faces the possibility of being fired. In a desperate attempt to forge a bond with his students, he begins to recount the history of his own extraordinary life. When one challenging student Matthew – played by Ethan Hawke forces him to face shocking revelations about his youth, he realises that his buried past still has a grip on his present day life, threatening all he holds dear.

Stephen Gyllenhaal (Homegrown, Losing Isaiah) directs the film which stars Jeremy Irons (Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Man in the Iron Mask), Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Total Recall), Sinéad Cusack (V for Vendetta, Wrath of the Titans) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, Donnie Dark).

The beautiful Doddington Place, near Faversham was used as the ancestral home to Tom Crick (Jeremy Irons). Surrounded by wooded countryside in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the imposing Victorian Manor was built around 1860. With landscaped gardens that are recognised as being of historical importance by English Heritage, Doddington place grounds spread to nearly 10 acres.

The nearest town is the historic market town of Faversham which lies nestled between the North Downs and the Kent Coast. The town is home to the Shepherd Neame Brewery which is not only famous for their ales but is also the oldest brewery in England. A popular filming location, the brewery doubled as Bristow’s brewery in The Darling Buds of May.

Waterland was released in cinemas in August 1992 and is now available on DVD.

 

 

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