about

Asunder tells the story of what happened to a quintessential British town during the First World War, with virtually all of its men abroad fighting and its women and children left behind. The North East was in the front line, thanks to its shipyards and munitions factories. Using archive and contemporary footage and audio, Asunder reveals the stories of people from Tyneside and Wearside to uncover just 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, some of them (God forbid) wearing trousers. Moving from the pre-war Edwardian golden era when cricket, football, and rugby boomed, and aeroplanes and cars pointed to a bright new future – only to see this progress horrifically reverse through the early years of the war. This culminated in the Battle of the Somme when on 1 July 1916 British, French and German forces began 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 the Battle, a confrontation of unimaginable horror. Asunder will commemorate 100 years since the Somme. A film by Esther Johnson with a soundtrack by Sunderland’s Mercury-nominated Field Music and Newcastle’s Warm Digits, who will perform live with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and The Cornshed Sisters. The creative producer for the project is writer and musician Bob Stanley. http://blanchepictures.com/asunder/

Please turn on CC (Closed Captions) for subtitles. A trailer with AD (Audio Description) can be found HERE

“…and then, all the world began to roar.”

Asunder tells the story of what happened to an English town during the First World War, with almost all of its men abroad fighting and its women and children left behind. The North East was in the front line, thanks to its shipyards and munitions factories.

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.

The narration for the film is voiced by journalist Kate Adie, with the actor Alun Armstrong as the voice of the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette.

A film by Esther Johnson, with a soundtrack composed by Sunderland’s Mercury-nominated Field Music and Newcastle’s Warm Digits, performed with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and The Cornshed Sisters.

To commemorate the Battle of the Somme centenary, the premiere of Asunder took place on 10 July 2016 at the Sunderland Empire, one of the largest remaining music halls in the UK, opened in 1 July 1907 by Vesta Tilley, known as Britain's best recruiting sergeant in WW1.
The premiere had a live soundtrack performed by Field Music, Warm Digits, Royal Northern Sinfonia and The Cornshed Sisters.

co-commissioned by: Sunderland Culture and 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sunderland Business Impr… — co-commissioned by:
**Sunderland Culture** and **14-18 NOW**: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sunderland Business Improvement District, Culture Bridge North East and Sir James Knott Trust.

Director
Esther Johnson

Producers
Esther Johnson
Bob Stanley

Text
Bob Stanley

Narrators
Kate Adie
Alun Armstrong

Music
Field Music
Warm Digits

Performed with
Royal Northern Sinfonia
The Cornshed Sisters

Edited
Graham Taylor

Cinematography
Mary Farbrother

Additional Camera
Esther Johnson

Sound Design
Chu-Li Shewring

IMDb

awards

Winner of Journal Culture 2017 Best Event Sunderland Award

**Special Commendation for Learning on Screen BUFVC 2018** ***Archive*** **Award**

**Finalist for Focal International 2017** ***Best Use of Footage in a Factual Production*** **Award**

**Finalist for BAFTSS 2018** ***Best Experimental Practice Research Portfolio*** **Award**