Oscar winning director Jane Campion’s BAFTA and Oscar nominated Bright Star charts the secret love affair of 23-year-old English poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish), an outspoken student of fashion. The unlikely pair are first drawn together by the illness of Keat’s younger brother, and their relationship develops as Keats introduces Fanny to poetry. By the time Fanny’s mother (Kerry Fox) and Keat’s best friend Charles Brown (Paul Schneider) discover the pair’s involvement, it is too late for them to put an end to it as Keats and Fanny are already intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other. Bright Star was nominated for the highest prize awarded to competing films, the Golden Palm, at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It also received a best Costume Design nomination in the 2010 BAFTA and Oscar awards. Bright Star was based at Elstree Studios.
Release / Airing: 06/11/2009
Locations used for this production:
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Ashridge Estate >
Various scenes were filmed at the Ashridge Estate including 'moody' walking shots through woodland and grassland which were filmed to appear as if they were attached to Keat's house. Another scene involved Fanny (Abbie Cornish) walking and reading after receiving news of the death of her loved one.
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Bower Heath >
Although filming occurred at Bower Heath Woodland, the exact scenes which shot here are to be confirmed.
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East Hyde >
A private country estate in East Hyde, Bedfordshire was used in multiple scenes as the Hampstead home (Wentworth House) which Keat’s shared with Mr Brown and later the Brawne family. The location was perfect because of the two houses on the estate that were situated side by side; one could be used as Wentworth House and the other as Elm Cottage where the Brawnes first lived. Whilst on a recce of the estate, an old photograph was found upstairs of a family walking out of a local pub called Bright Star, which was seen as a sign by Director, Jane Champion and reconfirmed how perfect the location choice was. The natural gardens on the estate were used as a double for the heaths of Hampstead in some scenes.
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Hunsdon Woodland (nr Ware) >
Although filming occurred at Hunsdon Woodland, the exact scenes which shot here are to be confirmed.
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