Racecourse to feature in critically acclaimed British film
Sharp-eyed racing fans may notice a familiar location in the new British film Suffragette.
Royal Windsor racecourse was used as one of the filming locations for the drama about the Suffragette movement.
The film stars Carey Mulligan, who some will recognise from The Great Gatsby and An Education, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep.
Joining them is Anne-Marie Duff (The Virgin Queen), Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, Gangs of New York) and Ben Whishaw (Skyfall).
“The Suffragette Movement played an unrivalled, pivotal role in shaping the country we live in today and we feel honoured that our course was chosen as the filming location for this historical and poignant movie,” said Stuart Dorn from the racecourse.
In 1913, Emily Wilding Davison died after colliding with the Kings’ horse at Epsom racecourse.
The script is written by Abi Morgan and tells the story of the early feminist movement.
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It follows ordinary working women who risked everything to fight for the rights we have today.
“No major film has ever dramatised the extraordinary fight of the Suffragettes for the right to vote,” said director Sarah Gavron.
“It’s easy to forget that British women only gained that equal right in 1928. And in some parts of the world that right is still denied.”
So far, the film has had great reviews from the critics — Robbie Collin described it as “hot blooded and riveting” in The Telegraph — with The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph all giving it four stars.
The film, produced by Ruby Film for Pathé, Film4 and the BFI, opens in cinemas across the UK on 12 October.
British racecourses are no strangers to the silver screen.
Ascot was used as a filming location for James Bond films Skyfall (2012), starring Daniel Craig as 007, and in A View To Kill (1985) with Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent.
Sandown Park also doubled-up as Milwaukee’s airport in the 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually.
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.