UCA graduate works in
Anderson’s wonderful world

This week, Wes Anderson’s latest creation, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, has premiered on Netflix – and there’s a connection with UCA’s BA (Hons) Television Production course!

04 Oct 2023

The short film, which is the first of four by the acclaimed director to air on the streaming platform, was filmed entirely at Maidstone Studios, using two of its indoor studios as well as outdoor spaces.

And as part of Maidstone Television Studios’ partnership with our BA (Hons) Television Production course, graduate Jordan Parker - who began working for the studios as a runner, and climbed his way up to be Studio Coordinator for all productions that take place at the studios - worked on the project.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a great variety of different projects,” he said. “But this was a truly different experience entirely. Seeing the process of such an acclaimed director and their production team was really eye opening for their different practices and production methods.”

Jordan role meant he worked closely with production to facilitate their requirements daily, and act as a point of communications between the production and the studio itself.

“It goes without saying that having such a prolific and influential director on site and facilitating his projects is a very surreal and fantastic experience,” he said. “Something we are very much proud of and will surely be one of the more colourful feathers in our cap. Then with regards to the cast, again very surreal, especially with the costume/make-up you see them in. It’s one of those interesting double take moments where you think, ‘is that really them?’ It was a really brilliant experience to see them in the flesh.”

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, part of a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl, tells the story of a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Its star-studded cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley.

Chairman and owner of Maidstone Studios, Geoff Miles said: “We are enormously proud and delighted to have worked with Wes Anderson and Indian Paintbrush on their latest short film for Netflix. It was an absolute pleasure to work with such a talented team across the year and on such an iconic Roald Dahl story.”

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is available now, on Netflix - and you can see some of the behind-the-scenes action in this charming YouTube video.