A morality tale on the folly of war

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“The sounds of this war have become a part of me, body and soul …I should be thankful, but I’m not” – Joe Franklin.

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Too Many Ghosts has been screened in 19 countries, spanning Canada and South Korea, Australia and Russia and all across Europe, East and West, including 13 showings at the London cinema of Britain’s Imperial War Museum.

In Kharkov in 2011 it received a standing ovation from the audience in the Ukraine’s second-largest city after being screened at The International Film Festival “Steps” (poster on the left).

The festival, which is under the auspices of the United Nations in Ukraine and a member of the European Documentary Network in Denmark, screens films that depict the civic engagement of citizens in tackling and solving social, humanitarian and environmental problems on a voluntary basis.

Directed, filmed and edited by Ian Woodward.

Petros Koukoulomatis, David Sutherland, Mandy Carr, Eva Woodward.

Screenplay and Verse by Ian Woodward.

Music by Sir Edward Elgar.

Narrated by Beth Mayoh.

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Too Many Ghosts is a fictionalised commentary on the folly of war set in Europe between the last five days of the Second World War and a few days after the end of hostilities.

Joe Franklin, a young corporal in Britain’s illustrious 350-year-old East Yorkshire Regiment, is reminiscing about the horrors of war and the mental scars it inflicts on the physically and mentally injured.

He is filled with remorse at the memories of those very close to his heart that have perished. Many are missing but some have been returned home to be buried in towns and villages up and down the British Isles.

Joe’s story is told against the musical backdrop of England’s great national composer, Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934), Master of the King’s Musick, with poetry by some of the country’s great war poets, including Rupert Brooke and Laurence Binyon, and specially-composed verse by the film-maker.

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Music

Sir Edward Elgar
Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 in D major
(“Land of Hope and Glory”)

Sir Edward Elgar
Dream Children

Sir Edward Elgar
“Nimrod” from Enigma Variations

Sir Edward Elgar
Symphony No 1 (1st Movement)

Joe Franklin
PETROS KOUKOULOMATIS

The voice of Albert Franklin
IRVING THOMAS

Parents of Joe and Albert
DAVID SUTHERLAND
MANDY CARR
(courtesy of Abbots Langley Gilbert & Sullivan Society)

Child of Hope
EVA WOODWARD

Narration and Verse Reading
BETH MAYOH

Location Manager
JOHN CARPOZI

Costumes and Design
DAISY OGILVY

Wardrobe
ZENKA WOODWARD

Carpenter
HARRY MALTIN

Technical Associate
PHILIP WOODWARD

Hair and Make-up
HEIDI SCHEUER

DVD Cover Design
STEFANIE WOODWARD

Thanks

The Imperial War Museum
The Royal British Legion
The Haslemere Wardrobe
June Parker (Vice Chairman, Abbots Langley Gilbert & Sullivan Society)
The War Poetry Website – www.warpoetry.co.uk
The Diocese of St Albans and St Paul’s Church, Langleybury, Hertfordshire

Filmed on location in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, and in Sir Edward Elgar’s beloved Malvern Hills in Worcestershire

An ENCORE film © Ian Woodward 2011
Running time: 15 min. Format: 16:9 PAL (16:9 NTSC also available)

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