Peter Jackson Is Directing A Feature Length World War One Documentary

After taking a short hiatus from directing, we’ve finally learned that Peter Jackson’s next film will be a documentary about the First World War.

Deadline reports that Jackson is currently directing the feature length documentary film, which is set to premier at the BFI London Film Festival later this year. Trafalgar Releasing will distribute the film theatrically in the UK, whilst it will be aired on BBC One along with a companion ‘making-of’ documentary. Copies will also be sent to schools across the UK, so it sounds like this will be an educational resource in addition to a piece of cinematic art.

The currently untitled film will be a co-production between Jackson’s company Wingnut Films and 14-18 Now, an arts program dedicated to commemorating the centenary of the First World War. It will use footage from the archives of the Imperial War Museum and audio archived by the BBC, some of which has been colourized and restored with modern production techniques. The project was very personal to Jackson, as he was quoted as saying:

“I’ve always been fascinated by the First World War due to my own family history and the Centenary felt like a unique opportunity to make a personal contribution to the commemoration. I wanted to find a way to bring new life to the stories of ordinary people living through extraordinary times.”

The last film directed by the Oscar-winning Jackson was 2014’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, so fans will probably be glad to hear that he’s finally back in the director’s chair. He previously produced the documentary film West of Memphis, which I thoroughly enjoyed at the London Film Festival back in 2012, so he’s certainly no stranger to nonfiction storytelling. We hope to hear more of his WW1 documentary in the coming weeks.

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