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Locally produced movie ‘A La Perchoine’ is premiering next week at Beau Sejour and will showcase the story of the thousands of children evacuated from the island on the eve of occupation by German forces.
Four screenings are planned from Monday 20 June to Thursday 23. Tickets start at £5 for under 18’s and the elderly, whilst adult tickets are £7. All proceeds from the screenings will be donated to the children of Ukraine.
Screenings begin at 19:00, with a run-time of approximately one and a half hours.
The feature-length film has been adapted from a 1990 stage musical of the same name devised by Martin Cordall and the late John Loaring.
The opening night also coincides with the 82nd anniversary of the first evacuees leaving Guernsey.
The film will be shown on what will be the largest cinema screen ever in Guernsey inside the Sir John Loveridge sports hall, with over 1,400 people able to attend each night.
Filming and production was undertaken in the island by local crew and cast with over 600 schoolchildren, teachers, and over 100 extras. The producers call the project “a truly local production”.
Pictured: A trailer released last week for the film.
The material for the film was researched through interviews with evacuees and by referencing the available written records, “a true living history,” according to the producers.
On Wednesday 19 June 1940 headlines in both the Evening Press and a special gratis afternoon edition of The Star announced the ‘Evacuation of Children’, instructing parents to register at schools that same evening.
The following day, 4,700 children with around 500 teachers and helpers boarded a range of passenger and cargo vessels to Weymouth and then onwards by train to the north of England and Scotland.
The producers added: “We all know the occupation story of Guernsey, but now come and learn about those who were evacuated.”
The film has been directed and filmed by Elliott Cockett and produced by Tim Langlois. Tickets are available online from Guernsey Tickets.
A gallery of images from the film and its production can be viewed below:
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