A FAMOUS children’s author hopes people in the Okehampton area will join him for a special gala screening of ‘a beautiful film’ of one of his stories.
Sir Michael Morpurgo’s beloved and bestselling novel Kensuke’s Kingdom will be shown at Okehampton’s Carlton Cinema on the afternoon of Saturday, October 5.
The screening will be followed by a Q and A with the film’s directors and a signing by Michael with local bookshop Dogberry and Finch Books.
The event is in aid of Michael and wife Clare’s charity Farms for City Children, which offers breaks to children from disadvantaged areas on their farm at Nethercott House, near Iddesleigh.
All proceeds from copies of Michael’s books sold on the afternoon by Dogberry and Finch Books will be donated to Farms for City Children.
Sir Michael said: “They had a premiere for Kensuke’s Kingdom up in London which I couldn’t go to because I wasn’t well enough so I thought, hang on, why not have a premiere down in Okehampton - it is as good to me as anywhere in London. We’ll have it as a fundraiser for Farms for City Children and we’ll then have a Q&A and then a cup of tea and a piece of cake in the Charter Hall. It will be every bit as good as sipping champagne in London.”
He explained that the film means a lot to him, both for the quality of the animation and the subject matter, a story about the fragility of the environment and friendships across different generations and cultures.
Adapted from his bestselling novel, the film tells the tale of a young boy, shipwrecked on a remote island, who discovers he’s not alone when he encounters an old Japanese soldier who retreated there after World War Two.
At first they struggle to get on but as dangerous invaders appear on the horizon, it becomes clear they must join forces to save their fragile island paradise. The story is brought alive by hand-drawn animations and features the voices of Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) and Ken Watanabe.
Michael explained that the film ‘had a wonderful history behind it’. “It took 22 years to get made which is quite extraordinary,” he said.
He first mooted the idea with screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce and, realising it was about pictures over words, they approached Lupus Films, the British animation company which produced The Snowman, The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Ethel & Ernest (another Raymond Briggs book for children). “They are a British animation film company of extraordinary quality,” said Michael.
The company duly worked their magic with Kensuke’s Kingdom. It almost could not have happened, though, as there was a one and a half million pound shortfall in the funding,This was secured, quite unexpectedly, just a few years ago from the British Film Institute, a charity which supports the film and television industries.
Michael explained: “They gave us the biggest grant the BFI has ever given and there was a really good reason for that, a sad one, because they couldn’t give any money out to feature films, because of covid, so they had money to give to an animation. So we got that through pure luck, because of the pandemic.
“The film is so beautiful. It has won prizes all over the world and it is being shown at 300-400 cinemas across the country at the moment. It is about something really very special, the environment, and about a boy’s growing understanding of the world and his connection with it”.
The hero of the story, also called Michael, comes to the island after alling off a boat on an round-the-world voyage with his parents. He is shipwrecked on the island, where he meets Kensuke, who sees his solitude of years interrupted by this young boy. They gradually learn to get on together so they can survive.
“It is without question the most beautiful film I have ever had made or am every likely to have made,” said Michael. “The music is beautiful and it has got fantastic actors doing the voices – Sally Hawkins, Cillian Murphy – it has grown into this extraordinary animation. It is up there with the play of War Horse. It truly is one of the great joys of my life, this film.”
