The film company StudioCanal has announced a very special late summer event on the south coast of England, which celebrates the achievement of the Dunkirk evacuation and the very particular British wartime spirit that saw the country through in the face of great adversity.
On the evenings of Wednesday September 20 and Thursday September 21, StudioCanal will present the premiere of a new restoration of Leslie Norman’s classic wartime epic Dunkirk (1958), on the beaches of Camber Sands where it was shot. The event is produced in association with The Luna Cinema and The Vintage Festival, and is part of the Britain on Film collection: Coast and Sea.
As well as the screening, event-goers will enjoy an evening of themed 1940s home-grown entertainment, including food and drink of the era, 1940s dance classes and set dressing, music and walkabout re-enactments. Gates will open at 5:30pm, and the screening will begin at 7:30pm.
The screening of Dunkirk will be preceded by archived short films, including a specially compiled montage of footage from the local coastal area at the time of the production, by Screen Archive South East. There will also be a special guest introduction.
This event has been made possible as part of a special programme of screenings and events taking place at coastal locations around the UK, staged supported by the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), organisations with funds from the National Lottery, and lead by Film Hub Central East (Broadway Cinema Nottingham) to launch BFI’s Britain on Film Coast and Sea collection.
Directed by Leslie Norman (The Long, The Short And The Tall), starring John Mills (Ice Cold In Alex, Goodbye Mr Chips, Great Expectations), Richard Attenborough (Brighton Rock, The Great Escape) and a cast featuring genuine soldiers, Dunkirk is one of the most authentic representations of conflict during the Second World War.
Dunkirk follows the dramatic events leading up to Operation Dynamo, when the British Army, driven back to the Channel ports by the advancing German army, were, against all odds evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk. Seen from the dual perspectives of a jaded journalist in search of propaganda and a weary soldier desperately trying to give his troop some hope, Dunkirk never shies away from the brutality of war and the bravery of its soldiers.
The new restoration of Dunkirk will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and EST with brand new extras on September 25, 2017 from StudioCanal as part of their Vintage Classics Collection – showcasing iconic British films, all fully restored and featuring brand new extra content: www.facebook.com/vintageclassicsfilm
For more information and to book tickets please visit: http://www.scnl.co/DunkirkPremiere
[Editor’s note: Other scenes were also shot around Rye. Part of Rye Harbour became the town centre of Dunkirk, a canal bridge was constructed leading to the Quay, a then-unconverted warehouse was used for interior shots for the scene of the soldiers in the barn, and parts of Rye – St Mary’s Church in particular – can be seen in the background of some scenes]
Source: StudioCanal
Photo: Courtesy Studio Canal
I remember the filming in Rye; I was 9 at the time. Mr Standen owned a farm near where we lived in Ashenden Avenue and he is featured in the film, wearing a French beret and leading a horse and cart. Also I remember watching the filming on the Strand.
Graham Alcock (now living in NZ).
I was 11 years old at the time and was involved in the shooting as a refugee as was my two sisters, brother and mother and I remember her telling me she was paid an extra ten shillings a day for having our caged budgie on the pram; something I’ll never forget. We refugees were filmed in several areas in and around Rye, one being out on the marsh where we filmed walking along a road and told to dive into the ditch to avoid the bullets from a German plane as they exploded on the road. This scene is in the film and I have great delight in seeing my right shoulder; such fame. It was also the place where I had my photo taken with John Mills which I still have in my collection. It was a great time and I have fond memories of the event as can be imagined. Incidentally, I too now live in New Zealand. Graham Williams.
Pleased to see Haley mills
I was five at the time and with my mother we were French refugees on the road. My mother had to sit on a donkey but when the German aircraft strafe the refugee , it spooked the donkey and my mother fell off damaging her knee badly. I was left on the ground crying and I’m the little boy you get a good glimpse of but my crying is on the sound tracks. They attended to my mum with first aid and stopped me from crying John Mills gave me half a crown along with Bernard Lee. Last year my wife and me were invited to the Little Ships for a trip down the River Thames and a service at Teddington Lock on the White Heather (re-named Riis !). A Really great day was had.