Swansea has landed the chance to host a major feature as Their Finest Hour and a Half heads to film in the South Wales city.

The choice of Swansea is a timely profile-raiser for a Welsh city, after the  negative publicity that surrounded the refusal by the National Assembly for Wales to allow Spectre to film inside the Senedd’s debating chamber at Cardiff Bay in March this year.

Their Finest Hour and a Half is a big screen adaptation of Lissa Evans’ novel and features some hefty acting talent. Bill Nighy, Gemma Arterton, Claflin, Richard E. Grant, Helen McCrory, Eddie Marsan, Rachael Stirling, Henry Goodman, Jack Huston and Jake Lacy appear in the 1940s-set romantic comedy, a screwball battle of the sexes about a young female screenwriter during the Blitz.

Lone Scherfig directs from a screenplay by Gaby Chiappe; the feature comes from Number 9 Films and Wildgaze Films, with backing from BBC Films, Wales Screen and Pinewood Films.

Swansea Council worked closely alongside the production company behind the movie.

Councillor Robert Francis-Davies, cabinet member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “TV and movie filming is very positive news for the city. It raises Swansea’s profile, helps attract tourism and offers direct economic benefits because of the large numbers of cast and crew who often stay in local accommodation and spend money in local businesses. 

“This is why we set up a dedicated one-stop shop a number of years ago to handle filming enquiries, promote Swansea as a film-friendly destination and make the process as seamless as possible for production companies who contact us.  This approach means we’re very successful in converting enquiries – particularly when the location being sought isn’t necessarily unique and we’re in competition with other places. 

“Over the years, we have established ourselves as a pro-active location service offering fantastic location opportunities. The establishment of the Bay Film Studios has demonstrated that not only have we got great locations to attract film makers and producers, but we have fantastic local, creative talent capable of producing world class productions. This further strengthens Swansea and the wider Swansea Bay City Region’s creative industry’s credentials.”

The South Wales Evening Post reported on more specific locations within the city, stating that a circular had been sent to staff in the city’s Guildhall about filming taking place in the building’s committee rooms and civic corridor.

We first listed Their Finest Hour and a Half on Production Intelligence back in 2011 – log in for more details on production personnel.