Setting Of This Is England?

[mardyscum]

Just a quick question - where is TIE meant to be based? I read somewhere the setting was a "grim, coastal town" but i know a lot of the filming was in Nottingham i think. Please help?

[fattaxi]

Ermm I don't think its ever named, I know some was filmed in Grimsby and some in Lincolnshire, the best person to ask would be RichK who was locations manager on the film.

[RydCook]

I think i remember Shane or someone describing it as "Nottingham-on-sea" obviously a fictional place.

[RichK]

Correct - a grim coastal town - a completely fictional place. So you might ask, why not film it all in Grimsby? Two reasons - firstly, geographically Grimsby is in the Screen Yorkshire region and not the East Midlands Media region. This is crucial for funding purposes - you can't get financial input from EM Media then spend the money outside of their region (this is a big topic many may not realise affects where films are located.. but I'm not going into it now) - the second is that none of the coastal towns that are in the East Midlands funding region really provided all that the film required. Mablethorpe had some good bits that could easily pass for 1983 but these were interspersed with modern elements. And generally there wasn't quite enough tougher urban stuff to do it there. Nottingham is easier for sheer logistics, easier to get to from London etc, and with larger estates to go at that have yet to be fully refurbed with double glazing.. although Notts Housing are cracking on apace with modernisation. Interestingly, I initially had a "no" from Notts Housing when I asked if they had any empty properties we could film in. I sent them a synopsis of the film and of course the minute they saw there was a race element they decided the best policy was not to touch us with a barge pole. Hmm..

Finally you may ask "why not just Nottingham then, why make it a fictional seaside town at all?" - well the answer to that is, thinking of the content of the film, having it take place by the physical border of England (the sea shore) reinforces the nationalism and sense of national identity - these guys literally feel as if they are on the front lines of "defence" as it were, against the perceived threat that they face.