SSAFA attends the UK premiere of Oppenheimer

14 July 2023

Last night our charity was given the opportunity to attend the UK premiere of Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Oppenheimer. This money-can’t-buy experience was gifted to us through work SSAFA has previously done with Kova PR who have Universal Studios UK as one of its clients.

The atmosphere surrounding a premiere of this magnitude should be captured, bottled up and available to open on a rainy day. There wasn’t a face without a smile on it surrounding Leicester Square throughout the whole evening, our guests included! Walking down the “red carpet”, which happened to be black, elicited bounces in the steps of our guests, especially charity beneficiary Jamie Small, 15, who saw one of his favourite TikTok stars.

Jamie’s mum, Mandy, was a beneficiary turned volunteer and now works for our charity as its Regional Fundraising Officer in the East of England. The bounce in Mandy’s step can be verbalised in her response to the evening: “We were both really excited to attend and were honoured to have been invited. To walk down the red carpet with Jamie was amazing, especially seeing the look on his face.

“I enjoyed the film and think it addressed some very sensitive issues extremely well. The actors involved did an amazing job and I look forward to watching it again.”

Richard French, SSAFA’s Regional Fundraiser South East, also shared his thoughts: “The evening was a fantastic experience I never imagined I would ever have. I would like to thank SSAFA for inviting me and Kova PR and Universal Studios for the opportunity. Having experienced PTSD from the Afghan War, myself and my guest Adam found the portrayal of the mental health issues in the film both harrowing and moving. Oppenheimer did an amazing job of bringing a very difficult subject to the big screen. I will be watching it again.”

The Oppenheimer film tells the story of "the father of the atomic bomb," J. Robert Oppenheimer, whose work at the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory led to the invention of the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Oppenheimer is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, the latter of whom spent more than two decades conducting his research.

Oppenheimer comes out in cinemas 21 July. The three-hour film is a must-see!