Berlin Wall escape attempt is brought to life in King’s Mills

A team from Guernsey-based production company Golden Goat Films shot a sequence for its latest film Whispers of Freedom at the King’s Mills Water Treatment Works.

Directed by Brandon Ashplant, the film is based on the true story of Chris Gueffroy, who was the last person to be shot and the second-last to die while trying to escape from East to West Berlin across the wall in February 1989.

Shooting for the sequence, which sees Chris – played by local actor Cameron Ashplant – and his friend Christian Gaudian – portrayed by Darragh Cowley – get caught in the death strip and come under fire from East German border guards, took place under cover of darkness.

Props used included a GAZ-69 parade car from the Soviet Union.

Mr Ashplant said that the nature of the shoot had been very intensive due to it being action-based.

‘It’s exciting,’ he said. ‘It’s the first time I’ve played a real person, so there was a lot of source material to work with in terms of understanding Chris and the time period.

‘What we are shooting here really is the climax to the film so it’s quite challenging, but overall it’s been a very interesting process.’

UK-based actor Mr Cowley, whose previous roles include playing Lieutenant Glenn Graham in Apple TV+ miniseries Masters of the Air, said that shooting for Whispers of Freedom had taken the cast and crew around a number of locations in Guernsey, which he had enjoyed as a first-time visitor to the island.

‘We’ve been at Burnt Lane and Richmond before today,’ he said.

‘Honestly I’ve loved what I’ve seen of the island so far and it’s been wonderful to work with such passionate people.

‘When I got sent the script I was really impressed by it. It’s an important subject and a major event in recent history.’

Assistance with the technical accuracy for the film is being provided by John Whitby, a military adviser in the film industry for 25 years.

He previously served in the army – in the Gloucestershire Regiment – in Berlin in 1986-7, and was also coincidentally in the city when the wall came down in 1989.

He became involved in Whispers of Freedom through his work with Mr Cowley in Masters of the Air.

‘I knew Darragh was going to be part of it, so I contacted Brandon after I had read the script as it sounded really good,’ he said.

‘I’ve even volunteered to play a border guard.’

He added that his main work involved training the actors playing guards on how to use their prop weapons correctly, as well as how to stand and act when opening fire.

‘It’s all about getting the body movements right and as realistic as possible.’

More shooting for the film is set to take place in Berlin itself later in the year, with a scheduled release date sometime in 2025.