Summerland

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jessica Swale directs. Laurie Rose behind the camera. Volker Bertelmann scores. Tania Reddin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 6 years ago.
• 2Directed by Jessica Swale, shot by Laurie Rose. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Volker Bertelmann. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Tania Reddin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Penelope Wilton carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Love. Magic. Hope.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt6841122 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Classified under 16 themes, including "world war ii", "evacuation", "lesbian relationship", "writer".

The technical file

Cinematography

Laurie Rose

Original score

Volker Bertelmann

Editing

Tania Reddin

Production design

Christina Moore

Costume design

Claire Finlay-Thompson

Makeup / hair

Laura Miles

VFX supervisor

Marcin Kolendo

Sound

Ben Baird

Stunt coordinator

Elaine Ford

Runtime

99 min · 1h 39m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$504,296

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG

IMDB

Summerland (2020) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

88% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

56/100

IMDB rating

7.1/10 · 10,897 votes

MPAA

PG

Also by

Jessica Swale

• 
  Leading Lady Parts

  2018 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Merv

  2025 · ★ 5.9

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  LIVING ROOM Q&As: Summerland with director Jess Swale

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Summerland - Official Trailer - Rent From Home Now

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  SUMMERLAND Trailer (2020) Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw Romance Movie

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Summerland - Official Trailer I HD I IFC Films

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• SWITCH.2020-12-16
  ★ 8/10

  'Summerland' goes beyond its often-tired narrative beats to deliver a moving story about love, loss and belonging. Its masterstroke, however, is in how it manages to take its devastating subject matter and present it in a mostly jaunty way. Bring some tissues and an iced tea, and you've got the perfect film to escape from the summer heat with. - Ashley Teresa Read Ashley's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-summerland-sweet-and-sentimental

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• SH

  Shoebox Films

  GB

• IO

  Iota Pictures

  GB

Key crew

• Foley MixerSrdjan Kurpjel
• ProducerGuy Heeley
• ProducerAdrian Sturges
• Line ProducerGreg McManus
• CastingShaheen Baig
• Visual Effects Production AssistantBen Duff
• Executive ProducerGemma Arterton
• EditorTania Reddin
• Production DesignChristina Moore
• Makeup ArtistLaura Miles
• Assistant Art DirectorRosalind Grégoire
• ElectricianMikey Ray Harkins
• ElectricianChris G Parker
• Second Unit Director of PhotographyFabrizio Sciarra
• Script SupervisorFrancesca Brooks
• Digital Imaging TechnicianKevin Bell
• Makeup SupervisorLiberty Haynes
• Hair DesignerLisa Cavalli-Green
• Property MasterAdam McCreight
• Set DresserManuel Vilaseca Vaya
• Makeup DesignerLisa Cavalli-Green
• First Assistant DirectorClare Awdry
• Second Assistant DirectorNatasha Fournel
• Drone OperatorChris Bates

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• world war ii
• evacuation
• lesbian relationship
• writer
• cliffs
• schoolboy
• woman director
• coastal village
• 1940s
• thoughtful
• children in wartime
• loving
• pagan myth
• dramatic
• scottish folklore
• kent, england

Release history · US

When it landed

• Digital2020-07-31PG

Also known as

International titles

• SummerlandCL
• Kraina LataPL