N/C 12+ ASUNDER
2016 | Dir Esther Johnson | 72mins | 
GB
Using archive and contemporary footage and audio, Asunder collages the stories of people from Tyneside and Wearside to uncover what life was like on the home front, with bombs falling on Britain for the first time, conscientious objectors sentenced to death, and women working as doctors, tram conductors and footballers. The narrative moves from an Edwardian golden era, in which sport grew in popularity and aircraft and cars pointed to a bright new future, to a war that horrifically reversed this progress. In the Battle of the Somme, commencing on 1 July 1916, British, French and German armies fought one of the most traumatic battles in military history. Over the course of just four months, more than one million soldiers were captured, wounded or killed in a confrontation of unimaginable horror.
Available with Hard of Hearing subtitles – see below for details to activate.
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Mia Bays (Birds Eye View Film) talks to director Esther Johnson here.
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Film run ends on 30 April 2021.
“In the plethora of events marking the centenary of the First World War and especially the Somme, ‘Asunder’ really stood out for me: its highly imaginative
concept, brilliant storytelling, geographical and cultural specificity, above all its power to move and connect with the reality of events 100 years ago. A fantastic piece of work.” – Michael Chaplin, writer.
“The footage is expertly threaded together and is complemented by Bob Stanley’s evocative and poetic words that are beautifully voiced by Kate Adie”. – Helen de Witt, BFI London Film Festival.
This film contains subtitles for those with a hearing loss. To activate please click on the ‘CC’ button, bottom right of the playback window, and select ‘English Captions’. 