Filmmakers recreate Beaumont Hamel in Makinsons for feature documentary

Award-winning filmmakers have recreated the battlegrounds of Beaumont Hamel in Makinsons, to shoot a feature documentary film.

Newfoundland at Armageddon tells the story of the Newfoundland Regiment on the morning of July 1, 1916, when the soldiers moved towards German lines, and were almost entirely wiped out.

When roll call was taken the next morning, only 68 men answered their names; more than 300 were dead, and 400 more were wounded.

"I think it will be the best one. On every level — the best interviews, the best special effects — on every level, we are going to make the best war documentary, I think, that's ever been made," said Brian McKenna, the film's writer and director.

McKenna has spent the last two years scrutinizing what happened that day at Beaumont Hamel. 

A century later, he says the story still resonates deeply with people in the province.

"As the scene starts, I sense that my driver — a Newfoundlander — is weeping beside me. I suddenly realized just how resonant this story is," he said.

Family connections

McKenna says he has included people in the film who are descendants of the soldiers who fought in the battle.

"Involving actual people in a story like this, people whose family went through it, brings it to a whole different level. And I found in other films I've made among these lines, it just makes it much, much richer, much deeper," he said.

Andrew Squires, who is a special effects and make-up artist, says the film has given him a greater connection to his family's history. 

"My great grandfather, William Ambrose Sully, he was one of the first 500, and managed to survive even getting hit at Beaumont Hamel," he said.

"Thankfully, he got to go home, so I'm here."

Reliving the attack has given the actors and crew a better understanding of the sacrifices that their families made.

"Up to my knees in mud, up to my elbows in blood; just filth, dirt, uncomfortable, black flies — and I wouldn't have traded it for anything. It was absolutely amazing," Squires said.

The crew says it's been an emotional experience for everyone involved.

"You can't make a film like this without committing your heart and soul," said McKenna.

"I've been working on this for more than two years, and the level of research — I easily can make a book out of this. But I think by the time we get finished with this, I may want to put it to sleep for a while."

After shooting the battle, the crew will move on to Trinity, where they will relive the experiences of the families who were left behind.