Project Detail

Testament of Youth

Synopsis

A British woman recalls coming of age during World War I - Vera, irrepressible, intelligent and free-minded, overcomes the prejudices of her family and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. With everything to live for, she falls in love with her brother’s brilliant friend Roland Leighton. But the First World War is looming and as the boys leave for the front Vera realises she cannot sit idly by, so she volunteers as a nurse and sets off for France.
London Film Festival 2014 - World premiere

Details

Year
2014
Type of film
Features
Running time
129 mins
Director
James Kent
Producer
David Heyman, Rosie Alison
Executive Producer
Hugo Heppell, Zygi Kamasa, Christine Langan, Richard Mansell, Joe Oppenheimer, Henrik Zein
Editor
Lucia Zucchetti
Screenwriter
Vera Brittain (autobiography), Juliette Towhidi (screenplay)
Director of Photography
Rob Hardy
Production Designer
Jon Henson
Music
Max Richter
Principal cast
Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Hayley Atwell, Dominic West

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Heyday Films

5 Denmark Street
London
WC2H 8LP

BBC Films

Zone A, 7th Floor
BBC Broadcasting House
Portland Place
London
W1A 1AA

Sales Company

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

The Aftermath The Aftermath

Director: James Kent

Year: 2019

In the aftermath of World War II, a British colonel and his wife are assigned to live in Hamburg during the post-war reconstruction. Rachael Morgan arrives in the ruins of Hamburg in the bitter winter, to be reunited with her husband Lewis, a British colonel charged with rebuilding the shattered city. But as they set off for their new home, Rachael is stunned to discover that Lewis has made an unexpected decision. They will be sharing the grand house with its previous owners, a German widower and his troubled daughter. In this charged atmosphere, enmity and grief give way to passion and betrayal.

HG Wells: War with the World HG Wells: War with the World

Director: James Kent

Year: 2008

Like the other films (George Orwell, Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Elizabeth David) in this critically acclaimed and award-winning biography strand, HG Wells takes a bold and innovative approach to dramatising the story of the author’s life, by using HG Wells’ own words.<br /> <br /> HG Wells wrote his four best-known works, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and the Island of Dr Moreau in the space of just four years from the age of 29. His fame only increased with the eerily prophetic non-fiction writing which followed. Wells predicted the invention of tanks, nuclear war, biological warfare, television and the internet. Wells’ celebrity status enabled his pursuit of free love, winning him lovers like novelist Rebecca West and the enigmatic Russian Moura Budberg. It also gave him unprecedented access to world leaders like Roosevelt and Stalin.<br /> <br /> This story tells the story of Wells’ transformation from self-confident womaniser, socialist radical and young literary prophet to burdened missionary, dedicated to creating a World State that will avert man’s headlong course towards imminent annihilation.

La Voix Humaine La Voix Humaine

Director: James Kent

Year: 2022

Alone in her apartment a woman, Elle, is waiting for a phone call from her ex-lover (Monsieur). Elle receives two wrong numbers before he calls. The couple discuss their past relationship, Elle blames herself for their problems, claiming, "Tout est ma faute.". Throughout their conversation they experience numerous telephone problems and finally their connection cuts out completely. When Elle calls Monsieur’s home phone she discovers that he is not there, she assumes he is at a restaurant. He calls her back, and Elle reveals that she has lied during their conversation; she took twelve sleeping pills in an attempted suicide, then called her friend Marthe, who arrived with a doctor to save her. Elle grows suspicious that Monsieur is with his new girlfriend, but he never admits his whereabouts. Elle reveals her obsession with the telephone, she has slept with it in her bed for the past two nights. Their connection fails once again, and Elle panics. Monsieur calls her back once more, and Elle informs him that she now has the telephone cord wrapped around her neck. Telling him she loves him over and over. She sinks into her bed and drops the receiver.