Churchill in Madeira

CHURCHILL IN MADEIRA

Sunday, January 1st, 1950. The ship Durban Castle enters, at dusk, in the bay of Funchal, capital of the Archipelago of Madeira.

On board is Winston Churchill, former British Prime Minister, hailed as a Second World War hero and central figure in the Allied countries' victory against Hitler. His arrival is celebrated with fireworks and a crowd that celebrates him enthusiastically.

Churchill is accompanied by his wife, his daughter, two secretaries, a literary assistant, the butler and two bodyguards. He stays at the Reid’s Palace Hotel, invited by its owners, the English Blandy family, and the English consul in Madeira and his friend, Bryce Nairn. Reid's is one of the most famous hotels in the world and has just reopened after being closed for 10 years due to the war. Churchill is spending two weeks on the island on holidays, to write his memoirs and paint.

The main theme of this miniseries, of two episodes of about 50 minutes each, will be the preparation and the visit of Winston Churchill to Madeira, in 1950. Using reconstitutions, current footage, archives and testimonies, the narrative development of this documentary will allow the approach of various aspects of the history of Madeira and Winston Churchill.