Project Detail

The Trench

Name: The Trench
Director: William Boyd
Released: 1999

Synopsis

Set in the 48 hours leading up to the catastrophic attack on the German lines on 1st July 1916 that signalled the start of the Battle of the Somme, this is the poignant, intense story of young men at war, as seen through the eyes of seventeen year old Billy Macfarlane. As Billy and his squad are thrown into war, they experience trauma, friendship, animosity, nostalgic recollection and the prospect of their agonisingly short lives coming to an imminent and sudden end.

The action of the film is deliberately oppressive, set entirely in the few dozen yards of front line and communication trenches that Billy and his fellow soldiers occupy.

As the boys wait for the attack, alternately excited and terrified, a series of events begins to undermine and fracture the solidarity of the group, and for the first time our young soldiers have to confront the reality of the enemy as the suspense and tension reaches critical mass.

When Billy's platoon is ordered to go with the first wave of attackers, the awful truth of what they are about to undergo begins to impact. The whistles blow, the boys clamber over the top. We see the first wave surge into the maelstrom of smoke and explosions through the meadows of the Somme valley, advancing gamely on to meet their individual and tragic destinies.

Billy Macfarlane's war ends moments later.

Details

Year: 1999
Type of project: Features
Format: 35mm Fuji
Director: William Boyd
Producer: Steve Clarke-Hall
Director of Photography: Tony Pierce-Roberts BSc
Principal cast: Paul Nicholls, Daniel Craig, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Danny Dyer, James D'Arcy, Tam Williams, Anthony Strachan
Screen Writer: William Boyd

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Somme Productions Ltd P.O. Box 8210 London W4 1WH Tel: 020 8354 2236 Fax: 020 8354 2219

Sales Company

Portman Entertainment Ltd 167 Wardour Street London W1V 3TA Tel: 020 7468 3456 Fax: 020 7468 3469

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.

Suggest amendments

Wren is interviewed for a job at Brixham Fish Market. Gary shows her around and tells her to come back tomorrow, for the night shift. A few hours into the shift and Wren is flagging, she enjoys a moment of calm whilst smoking outside - until she is confronted with Cali, who wants a lighter and a chat. The next few nights, sleepless days and awkward interactions blur into each other until Cali greets Wren with a coffee and cigarette for the usual 2am slump. Wren is disgusted when realising Cali has spiked her coffee with brandy. Steph shows Wren how to fillet. Cali rushes to help, standing behind Wren, he places his hands on hers.Wren shrinks down, motionless, allowing Cali to puppeteer her, forcing his groin into her from behind. Wren empties her locker, she’s not coming back. She leaves, only to find Cali waiting for her, unbuckling his belt. Wren waits until his trousers are down, walks over to him, without breaking eye contact and guts Cali like a fish. She makes use of the “Monster Industrial Chum Grinder”, to dismember Cali’s body, discarding the chum into the sea at sunrise. She gracefully enters the sea herself, cleansed.

Black Drama Horror Woman Director

Close-up of a young man with wearing a green jacket, looking anxiously off-screen, with a black horse in the foreground partially obscuring his face.

Dusk

Director: Martin Crasborn

Year: 2026

Set in rural England, Dusk follows Douglas, a young farmer whose beloved horse suffers a debilitating injury. When his father insists the decision to end her suffering must be rest on his shoulders alone, Douglas must confront the heavy weight of adulthood. Rifle in hand, he faces an agonising test of duty.

Drama

A man in a hospital chair sings surrounded by patients and hospital staff

Stuck!

Director: Matt Nicholas