NEW FILM TAKES A SPECIAL LOOK AT THE DUNKIRK EVACUATION: ‘THE ROAD TO DUNKIRK’

On 5th June 1940, Hitler’s sent this message to his armies. “Dunkirk has fallen....with it has ended the greatest battle of world history”. Hitler lived to witness many battles on an even greater scale, all of which culminated in his eventual downfall.
Now, fans of WWII are in for a treat as Timereel Studios releases its latest title The Road to Dunkirk. This is a gripping and well paced look at the Battle of France and the subsequent evacuation, told through the voices of the men who were there.
Andrew Gray, the Director and Producer of The Road to Dunkirk said: “We wanted to show the story of Dunkirk by drawing on the experiences of the men who were there. We trawled through the sound archives of the Imperial War Museum, and came up with some great stories.”

Timereel makes a point of sourcing rare and unseen archive film – and this was also key in the decision to make the production. “Too often, documentaries on Dunkirk feature the same old clips of film” said Andrew Gray, “and we really wanted to dig out the gems. We have colour film, including amateur footage shot by the Germans of the beach after the British had left. My personal favourite is an interview with soldiers who arrived back. They speak to the cameras with humour and dignity, but their faces tell you everything; they look drained.”

Despite the serious subject matter, many of the individual stories featured in the production are humorous, like the Captain stationed with the Royal Norfolk Regiment who was instructed not to shoot at a lone German soldier “in case they shoot back”.

Other stories are more harrowing, including the SS massacre of British prisoners and the sinking of the “Lancastria”, a disaster far greater than the “Titanic”.

The Road to Dunkirk runs for 60 minutes and will be released in November at www.timereel.co.uk and at Waterstones and HMV.

Timereel has a fantastic selection of nostalgia DVDs, all based on original archive footage; perfect gifts for Christmas.  All orders are dispatched within 48 hours.

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For all press enquiries; including DVD review copies, film stills, Timereel spokesperson interview requests - please contact:
Lisa Tyrie, Timereel Studios, 3 The Close, Norwich NR1 4DH Tel: 0844 556 3501

Notes to editors:

About Timereel Studios
Timereel Studios is a film production company based in Norwich.  Using original archive footage, much of it that has never been seen before, Timereel Studios creates unique and evocative films showing how the lives of ordinary people were affected by extraordinary events.

Added on 01.11.2011