Dunkirk

Dunkirk is an upcoming English-language war film written, co-produced, and directed by

Christopher Nolan. Set during World War II, it concerns the Dunkirk evacuation. The film is a co-production between the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.

Nolan wrote the story with the intention to tell it from three perspectives – the air, land and sea. Efforts were made to create suspense solely through details, as the script contained little dialogue. Filming began on 23 May 2016 in Dunkirk, France, and was shot on IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large format film stock by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema.

Dunkirk is scheduled to be released on 21 July 2017 in IMAX.

Premise

Allied soldiers from Britain, Belgium, Canada, and France are surrounded by the German Army on the beaches of Dunkirk and evacuated in Operation Dynamo between 26 May and 4 June 1940, during the early stages of the Second World War.

Cast

Fionn Whitehead as Tommy, a British Army private:
Whitehead was cast as the lead of the film after a secretive auditioning process that took several months, as Nolan searched extensively for an unknown actor to convey "how young and inexperienced these soldiers were." Dunkirk marks Whitehead's feature film debut, his only previous credits being the ITV miniseries Him. In describing the film, Whitehead said, "I don’t consider Dunkirk a typical war film. It’s a retreat. Showing it from that perspective puts the audience in a position they don’t often get from a war film. I would call it more of a suspense-thriller about survival."