Script to Screen: Richard Hawkins’ ‘Think of England’ Marches Into UK Cinemas This Autumn
Note: This project was completed by Jessica Moran under our previous brand, Film & TV Clearances. We are proud to continue supporting award-winning talent as The Media Rights Collective.
The Media Rights Collective is delighted to see ‘Think of England’ complete its journey from a remote wartime beach to the big screen. Following an award-winning festival run, Richard Hawkins’ satirical Second World War drama has been acquired by Tull Stories for the UK and Ireland, and arrives in cinemas this autumn.
Produced by Giant Films, ‘Think of England’ follows a small and disparate band dispatched to a remote Orkney beach in the run-up to the Allied invasion of France, tasked with producing a very different kind of propaganda film for the troops. BAFTA-nominated writer-director Richard Hawkins leads an ensemble including Jack Bandeira, Natalie Quarry, John McCrea, Ronni Ancona and Ben Bela Böhm, in a film Cineuropa called “clever, engaging and unexpectedly affecting”.
The film world-premiered in the international competition at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2025, where Chris Richmond’s work won Best Production Design, before screenings at Glasgow Film Festival and Manchester Film Festival and a London premiere at Raindance Film Festival 2026.
THE SCRIPT TO SCREEN JOURNEY
The Media Rights Collective supported ‘Think of England’ across the full span of the production: a Script Clearance Report in development, Production Clearancesthroughout the shoot at Shinfield Studios and on Anglesey, and Music Licensing for the film’s period soundtrack.
A wartime story lives and dies on its authenticity — every uniform, prop and popular song of the era carries its own rights history. The 1930s tunes that thread through the film demanded publishing and master recording rights, so that the soundtrack Cineuropa’s review singled out for praise could play exactly as intended. That is the quiet work that lets a period drama feel effortless.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Richard Hawkins and the team at Giant Films on the film’s remarkable journey, and to Tull Stories on the acquisition. We look forward to audiences discovering it in cinemas this autumn.
