With the 2014 award season now well and truly underway, all eyes are beginning to turn to dear old Blighty for our most prestigious film awards ceremony: The 67th British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) on Sunday 16th February. While the stars of the night will be at London’s Royal Opera House for the ceremony, HCX takes a look at the places where the films up for Best Picture were set, and why you should consider a visit.
12 Years A Slave
It’s the most talked about film of the year – the pre-Civil War true story of Solomon Northup, a free man from Syracuse, New York, who is kidnapped and sold as a slave. The majority of this harrowing tale takes place in various cotton and sugar plantations in the South Eastern states of the USA. Director Steve McQueen chose existing plantations in Louisiana to capture the true essence of the time. These sites, such as the St Joseph plantation, have been beautifully preserved into working museums in order to preserve an important part of American history. They also provide a stunning location for weddings and events.
American Hustle
It’s the story of how the seasoned con man Irving Rosenfeld and his glamorous, sometimes British, assistant Sydney “Lady Edith Greensly” Prosser, are made to work for FBI agent Richie DiMaso so that they avoid jail time, and so that DiMaso can advance his way up the FBI power ladder. Despite being filmed in New York City and Boston, the film takes place in New Jersey, nicknamed The Garden State. New Jersey is worth a visit because it is an area of outstanding natural beauty with gorgeous beaches and the opportunity to surf, fish and golf. As one of the older American states, the area is also as steeped in history with various revolutionary battlefields where you can soak up more American history. It’s home to one of America’s greatest universities, Princeton, and the state boasts many a shopping outlet experience.
Captain Phillips
Tom Hanks stars as Captain Richard Phillips in the true story of the hijacking of an American cargo ship by Somali pirates in 2009. Set 145 miles off the Somali coast, this part of the Indian Ocean is not a place many would want to visit due to the fact that the area is rife with Somali piracy. The closest place worth a visit in the ocean is either Zanzibar or the Seychelles, often regarded as paradise on Earth. A relaxing visit here would not compare to the events of Phillips in the film, but the tan and white beaches would certainly be worth it.
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Gravity
HCX’s favourite silver fox, George Clooney, is literally out of this world in the outer space film about survival with Sandra Bullock. Only a relatively short distance above us is the infinite domain of space. We’ve all seen the pictures of various planets, stars, views of the earth from a space station and it is something that has fascinated humans throughout the ages. Not content with providing us students with great Broadband deals and to compensate for the closure of many Virgin Megastores, Sir Richard Branson is allowing us all to travel into space on the Virgin Galactic at a price of a quarter of a million dollars. Despite being a swift experience and accompanied by the terrific risks of space travel this is one experience that HCX really wants to have.
Philomena
The heart warming tale of a former journalist, Martin Sixsmith, who tries to reunite Philomena with her son who was taken away from her at birth because she lived in a Catholic convent. The story starts in Roscrea where Philomena lives, a quiet, rural town in central Ireland with sweeping hills and Irish charm.
The story then moves to Washington D.C. after Martin learns that the lost son, Michael, might be there. As the capital of the world’s most powerful nation there are all the monuments and important sites that you could wish for: the White House, Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian museums – the list is not exhaustive.
Seeing such inspiring films gives the girls at HCX a sense of wanderlust – bring on Summer!
Photo credits: www.tumblr.com, www.audleytravel.com, www.wired.com, www.in2eastafrica.net, www.theluxtraveller.com, www.filmspoons.de, www.irishtimes.com