Mike Leigh

Peterloo (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Various actors in film 'Peterloo' standing on a stage, surrounded by a cheering crowd

Peterloo 2018 ©IMDb

Writer / Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Pearce Quigley
Production Company: BFI Film Fund
Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham and St Mary’s Marshes

Oscar nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh (Mr Turner) portrays one of England’s bloodiest episodes, the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Government guards charged and attacked a peaceful protest held by 80,000 people in Manchester demanding democratic reform.

Peterloo (2018) stars Rory Kinnear (Spectre, The Imitation Game) as Henry Hunt, Maxine Peake (The Theory of Everything, The Village) as Nellie, Pearce Quigley (The Rovers) as Joshua.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a well-known film location in Kent and has been used on many projects. Production used the Tarred Yarn Store and the exterior of the Ropery to double as a Cotton Mill in Manchester.

With its Victorian and Georgian architecture, the Dockyards provides many varied locations and has also appeared in Victoria and Abdul (2017), Mr Turner (2014) and Downton Abbey (2013) among others.

St Mary’s Marshes on the Isle of Grain appears in a short scene at the beginning of the film, a lonely figure walking along the marshes. The marshes are on the Isle of Grain, between the River Thames and the River Medway. The Medway area has been used in various TV Series and films such as Black Sea (2014).

The film will be released in the UK on 2nd November 2018.

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. 

All Or Nothing (2002)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Car driving through a isolated background with lighthouse

All or Nothing Screenshot © Thin Man Films/StudioCanal

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, James Corden

Production Company: Les Films Alain Sarde, Thin Man Films

Kent location used: Dungeness

All Or Nothing is a film set on a London housing estate and centres around three working-class families and the struggles they face; including unemployment, violence unplanned pregnancy and alcoholism.

The film was nominated for many awards and won two at the London Critics Circle Film Awards – British Film of the Year and British Actress of the Year for Lesley Manville.

The film is directed by the acclaimed Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Happy-Go-Lucky, Vera Drake) and stars Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, The King’s Speech, Enchanted), Lesley Manville (Maleficent, Another Year, Secrets & Lies) Ruth Sheen (Run Fatboy Run, Misfits, Vanity Fair) and James Corden (Begin Again, Into the Woods, The History Boys).

driving through fields looking out onto the beach

All or Nothing Screenshot © Thin Man Films/StudioCanal

Dungeness features in the film when Phil drives to the beach to contemplate his problems.

Set in the Shepway district of Kent, Dungeness is a unique location with a shingle beach, old and modern homes, two lighthouses, a historic railway station and a Power Station. Dungeness has been used as a film location by productions such as Ginger and Rosa (2012), Derek (2008) and I Want You (1998).

All Or Nothing was released in cinemas on 18th October 2002 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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