As the end of 2022 draws near, we can’t quite believe the bountiful year we’ve had for filming in Lewisham. 2022 has seen so many wonderful and exciting productions walk through the doors of Lewisham and it looks like 2023 is not going to slow down either! We can’t wait to see what is in store for the borough in the New Year and below we’ve curated a collection of some recent production highlights to bring the festive joy.
John Lewis: The Beginner
This year we are proud to reveal that the renowned John Lewis Christmas Advert of 2022 took to the streets of Lewisham to film their protagonist hard at work on his skateboard training mission! Lewisham’s residential hilly streets made for a perfect canvas for this shoot, check it out below!
John Lewis are working in partnership with charities ‘Action for Children’ and ‘Who Cares Scotland’ who work with vulnerable children and young people who are growing up in the care system and the ad aims to shine a light of the wonderful organisations who are working to protect and improve the lives of these children. Imran Hussain, the Director of Policy said, “This relationship with John Lewis for us is about changing lives and changing minds. We’ve not had that kind of exposure, We’ve not had people like John Lewis talk about these things before.” and Rachel, a young person who grew up in care and is now a campaigner for Action for Children added, “John Lewis doing this is really just showing us that we are cared about and we matter and I feel like that is going to have an impact on so many young people who feel neglected and isolated this Christmas.”
Jacob Hughes-Rodgers, the Film Officer on the job said, “The John Lewis Christmas ad has become a yearly phenomenon in the zeitgeist of the British festive season and we were delighted to welcome this years offering to the borough. The ad shines a light on the positive change we can make for young people growing up in care and we cannot think of a more important message to spread at this time of year. It was wonderful to see the streets of Lewisham featured in the commercial!”
Take a look at the ad below, and you can read more information about John’s Lewis’s work with Action for Children and Who Cares Scotland – here!
A Town Called Malice
“A Town Called Malice” is Sky’s upcoming drama set on the backdrop of the palm trees and beach of 1980s Costa del Sol, it follows the Lords, a crime family of petty thieves from South London, as they decamp from London to Spain to profit from an unexpected windfall – and to escape the attention of the police in a high-profile murder enquiry.
The production set up for 3 days on Deptford High Street, one of Lewisham’s most popular locations for its fantastic high street look. As the show is set in the 1980s, Deptford High Street was period dressed and doubled as Brixton High Street. The shoot featured a multitude of different elements including traffic management and a rain machine which requires liaising with local businesses, residents and council department including the Lewisham culture team and highways department.
It is key when filming in such a busy area like this to maintain the fine balance between allowing productions to push the boundaries of creativity on their shoot, whilst making sure the impact on local businesses and residents in the area is kept to a minimum in order to keep filming sustainable in the future.
There is no set release date for the show yet but we can’t wait to see what it looks like when it airs – in the meantime check out the trailer below!
KFC
KFC made the most of Lewisham’s diverse streets and parks such as Blythe Hill Fields as a part of their latest commercial advertising its new delivery service which you may have spotted as idents during the World Cup. Lewisham has been very popular for commercials in 2022 including features in ads for McDonald’s, Brewdog and EE to name but a few.
Take a look at the ad here and look out for your neighbourhood!
You&Me
With the launch of ITV’s new streaming platform ITVX comes a whole host of new and exciting original shows. Amongst these is You&Me, a romantic comedy drama about finding love when you least expect it, told over two separate timelines across the three episodes, it reveals, chapter by chapter, the tragedies that have shaped characters Ben, Emma and Jess.
The production filmed at multiple locations across the borough including Telegraph Hill Upper and Lower Park and Deptford High Street. For the shoot on Deptford High Street, the Lewisham Film Office, managed by the Film Office, provided paid work experience to a local resident who worked as location marshal on set. Jessie Trace, the Film Officer on the job said, “It’s really heartening when productions are able to provide opportunities for residents in the borough. Not only does it give them some paid first-hand experience, but it also helps the production at a time when it needs additional support so it’s lovely to see a mutual beneficial opportunity for all involved and to be able to give back to the local community.” You and Me has no release date yet but we can’t wait to see what it looks like when it comes out next year!
And from all of us at the Lewisham Film Office we wish you a very Happy Festive Period and a Fantastic New Year!
