We all wonder about the spectacle of film and fame. Could you have been standing where famous filmmakers and actors once stood? Amazingly, the answer is potentially ‘yes’ as there are several examples of feature length films that have used a Portsmouth (or close by Hampshire area) as a key part of their blockbuster movie.
In this second instalment of Making Waves’ Famous Portsmouth, I dive into two more household names.
Les Miserables, Tom Hooper (2012)
Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables is one of many adaptations of the drama that follows the life of convict Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) who fights to build a new life in the midst of revolution beginning to brew.
Portsmouth’s own Historic Dockyard is used in the gritty opening of the film where Jean Valjean is among the convicts pulling a ship into the dockyard. This behind the scenes video goes into more detail on The Dockyard’s famous moment.
Cast and crew at the historic dockyard for filming of Les Miserables
Transformers: The Last Knight, Michael Bay (2017)
Humans are at war with the Transformers, and Optimus Prime is gone. Transformers: The Last Knight brings together inventor Cade Yeager, Bumblebee, an English lord and an Oxford professor to save the world.
Going slightly further afield, The Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport was used as a location for the film, welcoming A-Listers Sir Anthony Hopkins and Mark Wahlberg. HMS Alliance was also used as a location for the film with scenes filmed on board the boat over three days. Again, this behind the scenes video goes into more detail.
Crew with HMS Alliance for Transformers: The Last Knight
You can find more in this series by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
We all wonder about the spectacle of film and fame. Could you have been standing where famous filmmakers and actors once stood? Amazingly, the answer is potentially ‘yes’ as there are several examples of feature length films that have used a Portsmouth (or close by Hampshire area) as a key part of their blockbuster movie. Today I’m going to break down two of them.
No Time To Die, Cary Joji Fukunaga (2021)
The final instalment of Daniel Craig’s Bond journey, No Time To Die, finds him after leaving active service, searching for a tranquil life. However, after an old friend shows up, he ends up on the trail of a mysterious villain who’s armed with a dangerous new technology.
Despite the unimaginable scale of a Bond film, Portsmouth still found a place in it. Film crews were spotted in the waters between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight in 2019 filming boats and helicopters. HMS Dragon, a Type 45 warship based in Portsmouth, was also used in scenes filmed in secret pre-pandemic. HMS Dragon can be seen in the final trailer at around 1m50s.
Portsmouth’s HMS Dragon in No Time To Die, (2021)
Tommy, Ken Russell (1975)
One of the most famous examples is Ken Russell’s Tommy filmed all over 70s Portsmouth. The film follows deaf, mute and blind Tommy. As a teenager, he stumbles upon a pinball machine and as he becomes a pinball champion and later the messiah of a religious cult.
Apart from Tommy’s birth, the rest of the movie was shot around Portsmouth and nearby Hayling Island. Fort Purbrook and the King’s Theatre also feature but the film’s most famous location is South Parade Pier. During filming it burned for the third time since its construction and the film included the event in the movie’s climax (which can be seen at the top of this post!).
Elton John at the King’s Theatre, Tommy, (1975)
You can find more in this series by clicking here. Thanks for stopping by!
Making Waves will join film festivals across Europe in showing solidarity with Ukraine. From film screenings to a fundraiser for the Disasters Emergency Committee, we’re shining a spotlight on Ukrainian film.
Film has always had the power to bring people together. Even now, with Ukraine’s cinemas closed, the Ukrainian people are still watching films. President Volodymyr Zelensky has requested that Ukraine’s biggest film archive screen a series of Soviet-films in metro stations from Kyiv to Kharkiv, where residents have sought shelter from the war.
Outside of Ukraine, pro-Ukrainian sentiment has swept across Europe’s film festivals. Festivals in Berlin, Venice and Sarajevo have screened Ukrainian films in solidarity. Other festivals have gone even further. Cannes and Venice have chosen to ban official Russian delegations while others such as Glasgow Film Festival and Stockholm International Film Festival are boycotting films funded by Russia. Here at Making Waves we are running two events to show our solidarity with Ukraine.
MWFF & The Front Room present ‘HOME’ a fundraiser for DEC Ukraine appeal
Friday 22rd April 7-10pm at No 6 Cinema
Making Waves and The Front Room have partnered to raise money for The Disasters Emergency Committee with a fundraising event. HOME will include an eclectic mix of spoken word, live animation and a selection of short films by Ukrainian filmmakers. For us, home is a place of shelter, security and nourishment, something we would like to celebrate and share with you.
The DEC delivers effective and timely relief to people most in need. With more than 10 million people haveing fled their homes to escape conflict in Ukraine, the DEC is raising money for shelter, food and water.
We invite you to donate directly to the DEC Ukrainian Humanitarian fund via our Just Giving Page. To buy a ticket for this event please make a donation of what you can afford. One donation equals one ticket and we suggest £10 or more.
Having lost his oldest son in the war between Russia and Ukraine, Mustafa resolves to take the boy’s body to his native land: Crimea. Together, he and his younger son set out on a journey that will profoundly mark their relationship.
In solidarity with the Ukrainian film industry we will be screening Homeward. Ukrainian filmmaker Nariman Aliev’s debut feature premiered at Festival de Cannes 2019 and was nominated for Un Certain Regard. Acclaimed by critics and audiences, Homeward is a powerful road movie following a father and son united by grief, travelling across a war-torn land.
Despite being one of Ukraine’s finest films in recent years, Homeward is just one film in a rich and vibrant history of Ukrainian cinema. The Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre (Dovzhenko Centre) in Kiev is the largest Ukrainian film archive with an extensive collection that includes over 7,000 feature films, documentaries, animated films and thousands of archival records from the history of Ukrainian film.
In times of war it’s important to remember that art and humanity are inextricably linked. We are honoured to be screening Homeward and hope you will join us in celebrating Ukrainian culture.
Making Waves Film Festival runs in partnership with No 6 Cinema in the Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth and is supported by BFI FAN, BFI NETWORK, Camera Crate, Tilly Films, Euroscript, University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Guildhall.
Say hello to the five talented directors from the Solent region nominated for Best Local Film. Here at Making Waves Film Festival we’re all about recognising and celebrating the very best of local filmmaking talent. Read all about our official selection below and join us on April 20th at Portsmouth Guildhall to see these bold and innovative short films.
Joe Burbidge, dir. DISEMBODIED
Disembodied, dir. Joe Burbidge
After Todd accidentally decapitates his lifelong friend Marcus, he tries to preserve their friendship the only way he can think how: in the fridge.
Joe Burbidge is a director based in the Solent area. He is a self confessed “lover of the abnormal” and it’s no surprise his creative process involves indulging his weird and wacky side through the medium of film.
Benjamin Cook, dir. THE BEAST
The Beast, dir. Benjamin Cook
Trapped in a cabin nestled deep within the woods, a man struggles to cope with the demands of a creature that feeds at nightfall.
In 2015 Benjamin Cook graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a First Class Honours degree in Film Production. His graduate film went onto travel film festivals across the world. Since leaving university Benjamin has started a production house and is on the lookout for interesting and exciting creative projects.
Tim Faraday, dir. COME THE DAWN
Burdened by loss, Isaac’s journey to the evergreen takes an eerie turn to the bitter truth.
Tim Faraday is a successful actor and director with a track record of festival-selected films. He is co-founder of Square Peg Films, an independent film company who embrace their eponymous philosophy.
Nicole Barbosa Filipe and Tomás Romão Arreigota, dir. MOÇA
SAUDADE – the feeling of hurt, nostalgia and rawness caused by absence or disappearance from something or someone.
Co-directors Nicole Barbosa Filipe and Tomás Romão Arreigota are film students at the University of Portsmouth. Sharing a passion for cinema since childhood, Nicole and Tomás are determined to forge successful careers in visual arts. Nicole is currently working as an assistant editor at Bro Cinema in Portugal for her year abroad.
Jack Lucas Smith, dir. THE JAMES MODEL
James is an AI software engineer working for ARCA. Virtual assistant malfunctioning and a conversation with his boss begin to confuse James. He feels more tired than normal. Why?
Jack Lucas Smith is a film student at Portsmouth University. An aspiring director, photography and graphic art are among his many creative skills. The James Project was produced in association with Oxford University and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence Institute.
MWFF Local Films Screening & Get Networked Event
Join us on from 5pm on April 20th at Portsmouth Guildhall for our Get Networked event.
In addition to screening our Local Film Shortlist, we’ll be hosting BFI NETWORK Talent Executive Alix Taylor-Searle. Alix will talk through the upcoming call out for BFI NETWORK Short Film Production Funding and Early Development Feature Funding, which both close for applications in May. There will also be a Q&A with a filmmaker about their experiences working on a BFI NETWORK short film project.
So, if you want to know more about how your short film could make our official selection next year, come along!
The extravagant visual style of Wes Anderson is one that has been discussed a lot in the world of film and for good reason. He is a major inspiration for my interest in film and filmmaking. I am in awe of the unique way Anderson brings storytelling to life and the relationship between all the visual, cinematic and technical elements presented in his films. So, let’s explore further exactly what it is that makes a Wes Anderson film the way it is.
Symmetry
Symmetry is one of the most notable Anderson features. Action on screen is unusually centralised and/or mirrored which draws our attention to the precision involved. Plus, the psychological connection between the human brain and symmetry could explain why its use is so mesmerising.
The French Dispatch (2021)
Planimetric Composition (and Compass Point Editing)
Planimetric composition (when the camera is perpendicular to elements of the scene) is what makes his shots appear two dimensional. Characters generally move horizontally or vertically in relation to these plains and the camera. Anderson also uses compass point editing techniques such as whip pans in 90 degree increments to maintain this composition. The resulting effect? The filmic space looks and feels constructed and the viewer is likely conscious of this fact. The debate here is whether this effectively contributes to the cinematic experience or if it takes the viewer out of the film instead.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Colour
Another stand out feature of the Wes Anderson style is colour. Notably, each movie has its own colour palette – usually charming pastel colours. When he does use bright colours, it is in contrast to sad events. This overall exaggerated use of colour creates a world far removed from reality which allows Anderson to get away with more extraordinary plots.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Storytelling
As a common thread, Wes Anderson films seem to want to highlight the ‘cinema’ of it all rather than hide the filmmaking. His films are often presented as stories within stories: Moonrise Kingdom (2012) has a narrator who speaks to the camera, Rushmore (1998) uses curtains to separate chapters like a play, and The Darjeeling Limited (2007) has a character who seems to be writing the story we’re inside of.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
It’s almost impossible to talk in depth about absolutely everything that goes into a Wes Anderson film. There’s also slow motion, tracking shots, typography and more. However, the points I’ve chosen to discuss start to break down key visual and aesthetic choices. Might go and rewatch The Grand Budapest Hotel for the fifth time now…
Next up in the Making Waves initiative to explore Portsmouth’s local creative community and why they do what they do is indie-focused production company Trash Arts. Below is just a snippet of what they got up to in 2021!
Trash Arts is “a collective of creative minds” that aims to champion all forms of art. They have made short films, feature films, music videos, promotional videos, and documentaries. They also host spoken word and poetry nights and variety shows for example Trash Arts’ Open Ya Mouth which encourages performers of all levels to have a go at an open mic event.
Here Sam Mason Bell, founder of Trash Arts and ex-director of Making Waves Film Festival, gives his thoughts on the Portsmouth filmmaking scene:
How would you describe what Trash Arts does to those coming across you for the first time?
“Trash Arts is a production company focusing on independent films and indie horror, growing new talent and championing indie filmmakers.”
What is it about Portsmouth and the wider Hampshire area that you think makes it such a great place for filmmakers and creatives?
“I am born and raised in Portsmouth; it has [a] fantastic development structure [and] you can go through the poorest housing to the richest housing within a heartbeat. Sure that’s not great for the country or for the people but to have [a] richness of locations close by certainly helps. Having the seaside, the woods, Portsdown Hill so close is fantastic! Not going to lie, will always feel the city council should do more to allow free locations for film makers, maybe one day…”
Why do you think a film festival in Portsmouth is so important?
“Portsmouth has had a problem with supporting its artists, whether that’s down to lack of interest from the city council or the hideous competitive nature of Portsmouth. A film festival offers an opportunity for artists to be supported and for them to network with other artists. Also with so many emerging film festivals it can only help to entice an audience down to Portsmouth for the city to actually have an event!” Make sure to check out Making Waves’ film festival programme for 2022.
What’s going on at your company right now or in the coming months that you’d like to promote?
“Trash Arts has a few films in pre and post production. This year we are taking more of a creative focus on Portsmouth, its history and its rather crazy folklore.”
You can find more information about Trash Arts through their youtube channel and their social media pages linked here:
I spoke with University lecturer and active practitioner, Riyadh Haque, about his take on the role of a film festival among county-wide communities as well as his personal career before, and during, his residency in Portsmouth.
(‘White Coffee’ – A short film directed by Riyadh Haque)
Riyadh, What filmmaking or media projects have you worked on locally, in the Hampshire area?
“Unfortunately, I can’t expose the details of many projects I have been involved with publicly. I can, however, briefly mention a comission project I worked on that was shot on 35mm film. The film was funded externally. We did, though, made a conscious decision to source as much of our talent and crew from the local area. This enabled us to support local, up and coming, keen filmmakers and get them involved in larger scale productions.”
Why do you think a film festival in Portsmouth is necessary?
“The film festival is always at the centre of the community in that area. Whilst I believe film festivals are great, they’re not usually enough on their own. The festivals host events once or twice a year and they’re great, but it can’t be left to this. Continuing to hone and support the local community is the real role of a film festival. It should be the buzzing hub at the core of a group of like-minded people.”
What project are you most excited about being involved in, either locally or otherwise, in the coming months?
“Ultimately, there are constantly projects and work that I am involved in, both locally and otherwise. The thing I’m really excited about being involved in is right here at Portsmouth University. Encouraging students to become the filmmakers they want to be. I have the opportunity to grow a community of young filmmakers that will surround things like Making Waves. I’d like to nurture the talent I can see here as much as possible going forward. Building upon the community we have in Portsmouth, thus growing the tomorrow’s community is what I am most excited about.”
