Samphire Hoe

Liaison (2023)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Close-up image of Vincent Cassel as Gabriel Delage and Eva Green as Alison Rowdy against a blue background, bordered by the London skyline. Written on the left-hand side of the image is ‘Liaison. Stop at nothing to save everything’.

Vincent Cassel and Eva Green in Liaison (2023) © Apple TV+

Creator: Virginie Brac
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Eva Green, Peter Mullan, Gérard Lanvin
Production Company: Apple Studios, Léonis Productions, Ringside Studios
Kent Locations Used: Port of Ramsgate, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Samphire Hoe, Abbot’s Cliff

Liaison (2023) is a British-French thriller series following two spies, and former lovers, who are forced to reunite to fight against international cyber-attacks which threaten the United Kingdom.

The series was created by Virginie Brac (Cheyenne & Lola, Insoupçonnable) and stars Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, La Haine) as Gabriel Delage, Eva Green (Casino Royale, Penny Dreadful) as Alison Rowdy, Peter Mullan (The Fixer (2008), On a Clear Day (2005)) as Richard Banks and Gérard Lanvin (Mesrine Part 2: Public Enemy Number 1, The Prize of Peril) as Alain Dumas.

Production visited several locations in Kent whilst shooting the series, including the Port of Ramsgate, Ramsgate Royal Harbour, Royal Harbour Brasserie, Port of Dover and Samphire Hoe in Dover. Sadly a sequence filmed at Abbot’s Cliff in Dover ended up on the cutting room floor.

Ramsgate has the only Royal Harbour in the country, decreed so by King George IV in 1821 due to his fondness of the friendly locals he met there. Often used as a double for London, Ramsgate is a popular filming location with beautiful Victorian terraced housing, marina, port and promenade. Previous productions that have filmed in Ramsgate include Juliet, Naked (2018), the Netflix crime-drama series Top Boy (2019-2022), and BBC psychological thriller Baptiste (2019).

The Port of Ramsgate is set on 32 acres of dedicated port land and is often used as a ‘stand-in’ for film and TV as the Port of Dover. Other productions that have filmed here include the SKY crime-drama series The Tunnel (2013) and, more recently, the Acorn TV crime-drama series Whitstable Pearl (2021-2022).

The Port of Dover is the busiest passenger port in Europe, including freight terminal, two cruise terminals, yachting marina, harbour wall, lighthouses and seafront promenade. Other productions to film there include After Love (2021), The Rook (2019) and Next of Kin (2018).

Created by the spoils of the Channel Tunnel, Samphire Hoe is a new piece of England, an award-winning country park known for its wildlife, biodiversity, and stunning views of the White Cliffs of Dover. Series 2 and 3 of the SKY crime-drama series The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016) and The Tunnel: Vengeance (2017) feature scenes filmed at Samphire Hoe.

Part of the White Cliffs of Dover, Abbot’s Cliff is a beautiful location with breath-taking views of the English Channel. Perhaps the most striking part of the cliff, however, is the Sound Mirror, a large block of concrete originally built in 1928 to provide early warning of enemy planes approaching Britain. Previous productions who have made use of this unique location include Back to Life (2019-2021), King of Thieves (2018) and King Lear (2018).

Liaison (2023) was released on AppleTV+ on Friday 24th February 2023.

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

King Lear (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Portrait shot of character King Lear sitting on a chair with his three daughters by his side in the palace. Background is black and white chequered floor with black wall panels.

King Lear and his three daughters ©BBC

 

Director: Richard Eyre

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Florence Pugh, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott, John Macmillan, Jim Carter, Christopher Eccleston, Tobias Menzies, Anthony Calf and Karl Johnson

Production Company: Playground Entertainment, Amazon Studios and BBC

Kent Locations Used: Dover

King Lear is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film tells the tragic story of King Lear (Anthony Hopkins) who abdicates his throne in favour of his two corrupt daughters Regan (Emily Watson) and Goneril (Emma Thompson), rejecting his loving and honest third daughter Cordelia (Florence Pugh) when she fails his test of flattery.

Director, Richard Eyre, has previously worked on films Notes on a Scandal, Iris, and Stage Beauty. Anthony Hopkins who plays King Lear, is best known for his role in The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and Hitchcock. Emma Thompson as eldest daughter Goneril, was previously in Love Actually and The Remains of the Day.

Scenes were filmed in various locations in Dover, such as at Dover Castle, Samphire Hoe, and Abbot’s Cliff.

King Lear will air on Monday 28 May 2018 at 9:30pm on BBC Two.

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