Suffolk Sets the Scene for Filming of Netflix's The Dig

Screen Suffolk helped find the locations for Netflix’s latest feature release. The Dig, which stars Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes and Lily James and was directed by Simon Stone, is based on the 2007 novel of the same name, and reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo. Screen Suffolk locations used in the film include Thorpeness Beach, Shingle Street, a footpath in Snape on Suffolk Wildlife Trust land and an RSPB site called Boyton Marsh. The unit base was set up in the Snape Maltings. 

Screen Suffolk is the official county-wide film office for Suffolk, contracted by and representing all Suffolk district councils and the County Council. It is the central point of contact for anyone looking to film in Suffolk, and now issue permits on behalf of the councils.

Since Screen Suffolk launched, they have secured over 500 locations all over the county. Rachel Aldridge, operations and business development manager says: ‘We now have a huge database of locations that we manage on behalf of the council and private owners. We work with many organisations all over Suffolk and have worked hard to build contacts. This ensures that when a film like The Dig comes to Suffolk we know exactly who they need to talk to.’

Screen Suffolk were first contacted by location scouts on The Dig who were looking for the locations that would set the tone of the film.  Director Simon Stone was adamant that the came to Suffolk to film. Although the main dig location was in Surrey Simon states, ‘You go to Suffolk once and visit the estuary lands and you see such a unique landscape, like a world that you just don't recognise as quintessentially English... and so I thought to myself this is a real opportunity to show a side of England that you don't usually see.... as you see it's (Suffolk) constantly through the film, we keep cutting back to shots that were shot in the environment where it took place

Screen Suffolk met with members of the production team including Simon Stone and showcased all the incredible landscapes that Suffolk have to offer. With their contacts all over the county they arranged filming on Aldeburgh Beach, at Snape Maltings and facilitated the filming at RSPB’s Boyton Marsh which is perhaps the most recognisable of all the locations used. Screen Suffolk manage filming for The Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s portfolio and a key scene with Ralph Fiennes as Basil Brown riding his bike was filmed on their land.

Karen Everett, director of Screen Suffolk added: "It’s so wonderful to see the big Suffolk skies and landscapes continually referenced throughout the film. The whole film is such a great advert for Suffolk".

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​Photo credits: Larry Horricks/Netflix © 2021