Film / News
New local WWII hero film premieres in Bristol
George ‘Johnny’ Johnson was celebrated as the last surviving dambuster when he marked his 100th birthday at his Westbury-on-Trym care home back in November 2021. He died a little more than a year later at the age of 101.
Back in May 1943, young RAF bomb-aimer Johnson and his team had been assigned to attack the Sorpe Dam as part of the top secret Operation Chastise, more commonly known as the dambusters raid. This was one of the legendary raid’s most challenging targets, requiring a novel form of attack. The success of the dambusters dealt a devastating blow to the Nazi war machine.
https://vimeo.com/788976228
Now Johnny’s story is told in an innovative new film, Attack on Sorpe Dam. Director Andrew Panton worked with the Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA), based at the University of Bath, to create digital characters, using cutting-edge motion capture technology.
It receives its world premiere on the giant screen at Bristol’s former IMAX cinema in the aquarium on Saturday 13 May – the 80th anniversary, almost to the day, of the raid. The screening will be followed by a director and crew Q&A. Tickets, price £25, are available here.
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