DUKINFIELD was the centre of shooting of a new film that imagines life if the Nazis in fact won World War II.
Forty-Two is set in an alternative 1942, one that saw the Germans occupy this country.
And the abandoned St Luke’s Church, on King Street, was the setting for the main body of the production.
Filming was done and wrapped up in just eight days around Tameside and Oldham, but not without some strange looks from locals, who wondered why German soldiers were seen parading around.
Film-maker Eric Ian Steele, a Hollywood scriptwriter who wrote, produced and directed the film, which is in black and white, revealed the schedule took its toll.
He said: “For a historical drama, this is an unheard of achievement.
“We also got footage of military vehicles and aircraft at several military fairs up and down the country, but the vast majority of it was completed in that one week, which was quite exhausting.
“We have some incredible performances from our cast and some very emotional scenes, as well some grisly practical SFX.
“The film aims to be gritty and realistic and will definitely get people talking when they see what we have in store.
“Once it’s released people will definitely be able to spot familiar landmarks in the film.”
Forty-Two has been filmed in black and white with crops and props to make it as realistic to 1940s Nazi-occupied Britain as possible.
Mr Steele added: “Everything was conducted under such secrecy that the locals didn’t even know we were there.”
The film is the latest motion picture made by Vamoose Productions Ltd which specialises in genre films sourced in local areas and makes ultra-low budget films that “look like they were made with a million dollars.”
Forty-Two follows on from the company’s first film, Boy #5, a vampire movie set in Manchester that was also created on a microbudget.
The cast also boasts an impressive line-up with Game of Thrones’ Oliver Devoti, Emmerdale and Coronation Street’s Allan Nicol as well as Steve Murphy from Shameless and Emmerdale.
Vanmoose’s goal is to continue to make films and to create a film studio in the north west, like the old Hammer Horror and other studios of the past to give opportunities to local people who might otherwise not have a chance to be involved in various aspects of film making.
They have also put together a crowd funder to enable them to put the film through post-production.
You can contribute online by visiting www.indiegogo.com/projects/support-alternate-wwii-film-forty-two#/