Atlas is the story of my grandmother, Caroline Chojecki, MBE, a naval intelligence analyst at Bletchley park during the Second World War—but to me, she was my granny: the warm and loving figure I would play and watch the Muppets with. As I grew older and she passed, I came to understand that she had, at times, seen a different world too—a darker world, one that runs beneath our feet, but that most of us never see. This film begins to delve into that. What we were trying to do is approach this landmark, classic, but perhaps well-trodden subject matter of WWII though a fresh lens, for a new generation—and I hope that that’s clear to see.

Now, despite what we as Brits may want to think, the war was not won by us alone. It was not won by the Russians, nor even by just the Americans. It was not won by the men on the beaches of Normandy, the naval commanders in the Atlantic, or the spitfire pilots in the sky. Despite how our film seeks to emphasise the importance of the intelligence services, it was not won solely by the codebreakers at Bletchley, the shadowy figures of Whitehall or the spies parachuted across enemy lines. The war was won by a union of people of all genders, ages, and backgrounds, in all roles, in every corner of the world, in everywhere from battlefields to factories, coming together to rid the world of—without sounding too dramatic—the greatest evil it has ever known. It’s that union—and all of its less well-known corners—that we’re trying to shine a light on.

The truth is, when the story is as personal as this, you feel it deep in your gut, and need to get it out.

Thank you for viewing our film. We overcame a lot to make it—financial pressures, last minute drop-outs, unexpected weddings and otherwise—but we told the story we set out to tell, and we’re so grateful you’re here to watch.

Freddie Green