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Close Encounters of a Kent Kind
Mapping Kent’s Filming History
Clapper Board © Kent Film Office
Kent has a rich and vibrant filming past; in fact one of the first films ever to be shot is entitled ‘Rough Seas at Dover’. The clip lasts just over 30 seconds and in 1896; it had the first public screening of any film in Britain.
Since then, Kent has played host to many Film and Television productions, including The Darling Buds of May, The Other Boleyn Girl, Pride and Prejudice, Little Dorrit, Children of Men, Merlin and many others.
The Kent Film Office and BBC Kent plans to map Kent’s filming history in earnest, and we want your help to discover the hidden gems you hold in your attics and your memories.
Were you an extra in a movie once? Did your car star in The Darling Buds of May? Did you catch an autograph of Mel Gibson when he filmed at Dover Castle? Did your get a picture of 007 whilst waiting for a Hovercraft? Were you driving the carriage for the girls in Tipping the Velvet? Did your house or business or village feature in a TV drama or film?
We want to hear about all of it. Truly!
We would like you to send in your stories, behind the scene photos, videos or experiences of when filming came to your town to include in the map of Kent’s filming history.
Those who send in their stories and photos will not only greatly contribute to making Kent’s Movie Map the best in the country, but will also be included in a prize draw with the chance of winning some fabulous prizes.
So, get your thinking caps on and if you can help us, please enter the prize draw.
Also, if you know of a television or film production that has filmed in your area and has not been included on our Filmed So Far list, or an additional location on one of the productions we have overlooked, please send us an email to close-encounters@kent.gov.uk or write to us at Close Encounters, Kent Film Office, 2nd Floor, Invicta House, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XX, and we will gladly use it to fill the gaps! The deadline for entries is the 2nd November 2009.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
To see the first film ever screened in the UK, showing Dover visit http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/442891/index.html
