New Royal Marines film Sunray: Fallen Soldier made by Portsmouth director launches - how to watch and stream

Sunray: Fallen Soldier, directed by a veteran from Portsmouth, is a production showcasing Royal Marines who served in Kosovo and Iraq. A team of retired Royal Marines came together to draw upon their own harrowing experiences to produce the action film.

It promises to show many of the uncomfortable realities that military personnel face when they’re on the frontline, from losing treasured friends to fighting in warzones. Afghanistan veteran Daniel Shepherd, a Hilsea resident who served in the Royal Marines for nine years, is a co-director alongside fellow Commando, James Clarke.

He said the indie film - which promises to be action packed while highlighting experiences of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - was made on a shoestring budget. “Unfortunately, I have known people who have not come out of the other side,” he told the Daily Mail.

“You just don't see it coming. The way I see it is, it's our job to continue and tell those stories because they don't have the opportunity to.”

What is in the film?

Sunray’s green beret veterans use real life training to stage action-packed battles and harrowing assaults through tight corridors - including firefights from the back of a speeding truck. Many scenes have been described as “uncomfortable to watch”, as the film draws upon the cast’s uncomfortable experiences of losing colleagues during war.

Royal Marine veteran-turned-professional actor Tip Cullen plays Andy, a father on a larger than life revenge mission to kill the criminal thugs responsible for the death of his daughter. Tip, 56 - who served in the corps for almost 30 years and rose to the rank of Captain - was deployed on multiple combat tours including in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said he plays a broken character and a broken man, whose experiences are similar to his on back-to-back operational deployments. Dan added the brutal realities of mental trauma are often brushed over in film and television.

Another Portsmouth-based Royal Marine veteran, Sam Seeley, was heavily involved in writing the film's script. He came up with the idea as a way to deal with his own trauma. He previously told The News: “I wanted to attack and create a platform for mental health and veterans but in a fun way.

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“People can be really scared about approaching mental health and are worried about showing people potentially trying to commit suicide. We wanted to show it in a way that's dramatic and hard-hitting but still focuses on the issues at hand, which for us is PTSD and primarily survivors' guilt.”

How to watch Sunray: Fallen Soldier

Sunray released on January 24 and is available to stream through Apple TV. It’s also available in selected UK and Irish cinemas.

The Indie film - also starring former Marines Tom Leigh, Steven Blades and Luke Solomon - began production before the Covid-19 pandemic. The team behind it pumped in £6,000 of their own money to film a trailer in 2020, using it as a launching pad for a highly successful Kickstarter campaign raising £100,000. Filming took place in Portsmouth, as well as other locations across the UK.