Student to lead new war film about famous WW1 tank

Vin Hawke, 45, stars in Landship as Captain Donald Richardson, who must lead his crew through constant bombardment as the tank becomes bogged down in a shell crater, yards from the German front line.

The film will be released in UK cinemas this summer, more than a decade after Vin and the same crew – led by father-son duo Callum and Andy Burn - released Fray Bentos, a short film based on the same story.

Vin shot Landship over three shooting periods in 2024 and 2025 before he enrolled at Salford last September on the course.

He said: “This is a story about heroism brought out in a climate of absolute despair. 

“It’s a film that honours the brave soldiers that were placed in that position, in a fractured tank, and how they became a brotherhood where they were protecting each other to the death.”

The film was shot across Lincolnshire and Norfolk with the scenes of the tank in motion shot using miniatures and for the full-scale external tank shots, the crew built a life size tank from scratch.  

For Vin, the film comes after more than a decade of work as an actor, initially in independent projects and television work, including the AMC series The Terror and Sky’s COBRA.

A music career proceeded his acting work as he was the founding member of punk band Flat Back Four, touring across Europe straight out of college. Vin rejoined the band in the last few years, and also performs with a metal band called Fight in the Shade with his son.

His decision to study at Salford as a mature student was based around his desire to upskill himself in new technologies within the screen industries, such as motion capture technology and also to return home.

He said: “I never felt that I missed out on some of the opportunities that others had when they went to university and I went touring. I had my own experiences to grow as a person and thought I wouldn’t miss out.

“But when I did make the decision to study, I choose Salford because first and foremost, I was made in Salford. I grew up here, and I know a lot of people that have been very happy with the courses they did here.

“With this particular course, it just seemed like the right moment as with the way the industry is going, actors need to be aware of what skillsets are in demand.

“I’ve got a real interest in motion capture and this course allows me to learn how to work with that technology and keep myself ahead of the game.

“I believe Salford is an amazing place to kickstart a creative career – or in my case, augment a professional one with targeted specified development and to follow an academic research/PhD path, especially being at the forefront of mocap work.”

Landship will release in UK cinemas this summer.