Supernova

Filmed in the Lake District

Supernova is the new film from writer and director HARRY MACQUEEN (Hinterland), starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci; released only in UK cinemas in 2021. The film is a heartrending modern love story about a couple revisiting their past and coming to terms with Tusker’s illness on a road trip to reconnect with friends, family and places from their past and it was filmed around the Lake District, Cumbria.

The film centres around Sam and Tusker, who have spent twenty years together, and they are as passionately in love as they have ever been. But in the two years since Tuskers’ diagnosis their lives have had to change. As Tuskers’s condition has progressed, their time together has become the most important aspect of their lives, and every moment they now share has a weight it once did not. So, they plan a road trip while Tusker is still able to travel, to reconnect with friends and family and visit the places of their past.

Harry Macqueen on filming in the Lake District

The director of Supernova, Harry Macqueen kindly agreed to answer some questions about his reasons for choosing to base and shoot the film here in the Lake District.
 

How did you and the crew decide on your filming locations?

I have family in the Lake District so it is an area I know quite well and inspired much of the writing of the film. 

We spent a long time visiting many, many locations in and around the Lake District before settling on the places we finally used. Some of those ended up being ones that I knew beforehand and had written with them in mind; others were discoveries during pre-production. It was a wonderful privilege to see so much of the place. 

As is always the case, locations in films are a trade-off between practicality, permissions and the creative brief but we got very lucky and managed to film in some breathtaking places, which suited the story perfectly.    

How did your choice of Lake District locations influence the tone and mood of Supernova?

The Lake District is an immensely cinematic place. I wanted to utilise both the beauty and the drama of the landscape to underscore the narrative and then investigate how the characters responded to it too. It is an awe-inspiring place but also a brutal and unforgiving one, which is fitting for this kind of story. 

It can be both tranquil and unforgiving, whilst also being an intimate yet expansive canvas. This mirrors the story itself in many ways - an intimate journey exploring huge emotional themes. 

It’s no mistake that the lighter moments in the film happen at places with their own sense of calm and tranquility - the scene at the lake is the best example of this, perhaps. Similarly, when the characters travel to the final location the landscape becomes more foreboding. 

But also the colour of the Lakes in the autumn was a huge influence. This deep, rich palette was complimented in the production design (the interior of the van for instance) and costumes but also represented and enhanced the emotional tone of the piece. 

How did you find the Lake District as a filming location? Is there anywhere you visited you’d like to revisit, either for another project or a future holiday?

The Lake District was an incredible place to film but also just to spend time in in general. An important thing when you are making film - atmospherically. It was magical to spend our days off (not that there were many!) walking in the peaks or paddle-boarding around Derwentwater. The whole cast and crew fell in love with it and many of us have been back since. 

I am a massive fan of the Borrowdale Valley, Keswick and Bassenthwaite - places I have spend many happy days in for many years. One of the central locations for the film was Crummock Water and that area is certainly somewhere I would love to re-visit - perhaps without the pressures and schedule of a film shoot! I can’t wait until the next time I am able to spend time there. 

Cicerone Press launched a podcast with Harry Macqueen and Dick Pope, discussing filming on location in the Lake District.

Click the image below to see the trailer