WWII

World On Fire – Series 1 (2019)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Actor Jonah Hauer wearing a grey suit riding a bike with Zofia Wichlacz wearing a pink top and skirt sat in front of him. Cycling along a cobbled street with an army parade with horses behind them.

Zofia Wichlacz and Jonah Hauer-King in World On Fire ©BBC

Writer: Peter Bowker
Directors: Chanya Button, Adam Smith, Andy Wilson, Thomas Napper
Starring: Jonah Hauer-King, Zofia Wichlacz, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Helen Hunt, Sean Bean and Arthur Darvill
Production Company: BBC One, Mammoth Screen
Kent Locations Used: Historic Dockyard Chatham

Upcoming BBC seven-part drama series World On Fire (2019-), is a coming of age story set against the harsh conditions of World War II.

Written by Peter Bowker (Occupation, Eric & Ernie) directed by Chanya Button (Vita & Virginia), Adam Smith (Trespass Against Us), Andy Wilson (Cracker) and Thomas Napper (Jawbone). The drama series centers around the lives of ordinary people affected by the war starring Jonah Hauer-King (Postcards from London, Little Women) as Army soldier Harry Chase, Zofia Wichlacz (Warsaw ’44, Amok) as Kasia Tomaszeski and Yrsa Daley-Ward (White Colour Black, Der Koch) as Connie. Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets, Mad About You) plays the role of an American news reporter Nancy Campbell based in Berlin, while Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) is bus conductor and peace activist Douglas Bennett.

HMS Cavalier at The Historic Dockyard in Chatham was used as a major filming location in Episode 3 of the series playing the role of HMS Exeter during the first Naval battle of World War Two: Battle of River Plate.

Set on the River Medway, The Historic Dockyard Chatham has become a popular film location due to its unique Georgian and Victorian architecture, maritime environment, dry dock, cobbled streets, industrial buildings and collection of preserved naval vessels from different periods of the Royal Navy. The Dockyard has previously featured as a filming location set around the 1940s and 50s in a number of both British and international productions including Summer of Rockets (2019), The Halcyon (2018) and The Crown (2016).

The first episode of World on Fire aired on BBC One on Sunday 29th September 2019 and will also be available on Amazon Prime after the series has aired.

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

The Lost Commando Raid (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Image of a dark tunnel with The Lost Commando Raid text over the top in bright yellow.

The Lost Commando Raid ©BBC South East

Director: Samuel Supple
Starring: Toby Jones, Phil Eyden
Production Company: BBC South East
Kent Locations Used: Dover

BBC documentary film The Lost Commando Raid (2018) was inspired by Phil Eyden’s book, ‘Dover’s Forgotten Commando Raid’, and tells the story of Operation Abercrombie, a WWII raid led by Lord Lovatt on the French Town of Hardelot in 1942.

Narrating is BAFTA winning actor Toby Jones (The Electrical Life of Louis Wain (2022), Christopher Robin (2018)), as amateur historian Phil Eyden discovers mysterious graffiti in a supposedly abandoned fort in Dover that leads him to the story of a long-forgotten commando mission. The documentary includes interviews with Phil Eyden, as well as some of the relatives  of the commando’s taking part.

Production filmed in and around Dover at various locations, including the Drop Redoubt and the Grand Shaft at Western Heights, St Margaret’s at Cliffe, as well as at Discovery Park, where production filmed historian Phil Eyden using a microfilm reader and talking about Dover’s role in WWII.

Dover is the site of the famous White Cliffs of Dover and has been used in various productions such as Britain’s Favourite Walks: Top 100 (2018), Secret Britain (2016) and Great British Railway Journeys – Series 7 (2016).

The Lost Commando Raid will air on Friday 14th December 2018 at 7.30pm on BBC South East.

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

Hurricane (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Official Hurricane Movie Poster- Crashed plane at the bottom of the poster, three main characters at the centre of the poster in period clothing, planes and london skyline in background. Hurricane reads in the centre

Official Hurricane Movie Poster ©IMDb

 

Writers: Robert Ryan and Alastair Galbraith

Director: David Blair

Starring: Iwan Rheon, Milo Gibson, Stefanie Martini

Production Company: Head Gear Films

Kent Locations Used: Victoria Gardens & Stone Bay, Thanet

Hurricane is the story of Squadron 303, a group of courageous Polish soldiers who fought with British troops in the skies to defend England in WWII. The story is told through the eyes of Polish flying ace Jan Zumbach (Iwan Rheon), whose hope it is, that Britain can defeat the Nazis and free his own country.

Starring Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones, Our Girl) as Jan Zumbach, Milo Gibson (Hacksaw Ridge, Gangster Land) as John Kent and Stefanie Martini (Prime Suspect, Endeavour) as Phyllis Lambert.

Victoria Gardens was used in one of the scenes scene with a bus where Josef Frantisek (Krystof Hádek) meets Jan Zumbach (Iwan Rheon) and Ziggy (Matt Malecki). Victoria Gardens, Broadstairs is situated in Thanet which is home to some of the most beautiful Georgian, Victorian and Regency buildings. Broadstairs has a is a sandy beach with sea-carved chalk cliffs with the scenery being used in the film when a character parachutes onto the beach from a war plane.

There was also a beach scene at Stone Bay, Broadstairs, where Jan Zumbach (Iwan Rheon) is seen walking off a beach (this follows him stealing a plane in France to fly to England).

Broadstairs is situated in Thanet which is home to many beautiful Georgian, Victorian and Regency buildings. The area is a popular location for a variety of films and TV series including Liar (2017), The Lady in the Van (2015), The Calling (2009,  Mr Selfridge Series 4 (2016).

The film is due to be released in the UK on 7th September 2018.

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

The Others (2001)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
The Others film poster- Nicole kidman holding a lamp looking scared. The others written on top on a black background

The Others © Cruise/Wagner Productions

Directed by: Alejandro Amenabar

The Lime Walk, Penshurst Place- misty forest with trees

The Lime Walk, Penshurst Place © Cruise/Wagner Productions

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann, James Bentley, Eric Sykes

Production Company: Cruise/Wagner Productions, Sogecine, Las Producciones del Escorpión, Dimension Films, Canal+, Lucky Red, Miramax 

Kent Locations Used: Penshurst Place 

The Others is a supernatural thriller set in Jersey after the Second World War about a woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children and becomes convinced it is haunted.

The film features Nicole Kidman (The Golden Compass, Moulin Rouge), Fionnula Flanagan (Four Brothers, Tears of the Sun), Christopher Eccleston (Elizabeth, The Invisible Circus), Alakina Mann (Girl With the Pearl Earring), James Bentley (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Imperium: Nero) and Eric Sykes (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire). 

The Lime Walk at Penshurst Place was used for the scene where Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is walking to the local village through the fog, and coincidently bumps into her husband who has returned from the war. Penshurst Place has previously welcomed other productions such as The Hollow Crown- Henry V (2012), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and Merlin (2008).

The Others was released in cinemas in November 2001 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

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