Students take part in a Q&A session with movie director

The movie, which marks the 100^th anniversary of Wilfred Owen’s death, needs the assistance of crowdfunding to make the film a success.  The money raised will be used to bring to life the locations, costumes, props and, of course, the characters to tell the story of the extraordinary final year of a man who is generally regarded as Britain’s finest war poet.

Year 10 Students at The Birkenhead Park School have been helping to raise funds to go toward this movie by coming up with different ideas in form groups such as making and selling Christmas Eve bags, donating raffle prizes and much more.

This morning, Assistant Director of the movie, Keith Thompson, answered questions from Year 8 students on Facebook Live as he gave them a tour of the movie set.

Year 8 student Lily asked “what is it like to make a film?” to which Keith replied: “It’s fun with a good combination of technical support and logistical sense to bring it all together.”

Keith showed students the different cast and crew members walking around on set including a cameraman, an actor dressed as a solider and a lighting technician before making his way onto the trenches set, designed and built especially for the movie.

Afterwards, student Phoebe said: “It was great to ask all our questions about war and about the life of Wilfred Owen, whilst being shown the type of conditions they had to live in inside the trenches.”

Head of English at The Birkenhead Park School, Ms Franklin, said: “ In Years 10 and 11 our students study the poetry of Wilfred Owen for their GCSE but this is so much more than that! Wilfred Owen grew up and was educated in Birkenhead just like our students, The Burying Party has given us the amazing chance to add a human face to the words Owen wrote. I am so excited that Birkenhead Park School is involved with ‘The Burying Party’ and am hugely thankful to Keith-The Burying Party representative-for allowing us this opportunity. The Facebook live session this morning is just the first in a series of activities we have planned for our students to really engage with Owen’s poetry and to develop their understanding of World War One.