Vera Brittain

James Kent’s film about a great peace campaigner goes beyond the cliches of the trenches, writes Ed Power

THE shivers down his spine were a surprise. “I’ve made documentaries about very harrowing subjects, such as Auschwitz and 9/11,” says James Kent. “I’m quite used to separating myself from the traumatic nature of the material. This was different.”

We are discussing Testament of Youth, Kent’s greatly-heralded adaptation of the First World War memoirs of peace campaigner Vera Brittain.