COVID-19

COVID-19 The screen industries are of course operating in unprecedented times and the impact of COVID-19 will undoubtedly be felt deeply as we work through this ever-evolving situation. Our primary concern is for the health and welfare of the workforce in an industry that has seen a hiatus of physical production and employment.

Production guidance for Film and High-End TV Drama is now available with the publication of ‘Working Safely During COVID-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama Production’by the British Film Commission, produced as part of wider BFI Screen Sector COVID-19 Task Forces recovery initiatives.

In collaboration with the London Filming Partnership, Film London have created guidance for crews filming in public spaces in London. The COVID-19 Guidanceprovides a checklist of actions for crews to ensure that they operate within government guidelines and mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19 when on location.

Film London remains fully operational, delivering for the industry and sharing official advice and support. For advice on London locations, studios and facilities, email locations@filmlondon.org.uk

TV

Sky original drama I hate Suzie, co-created by and starring Billie Piper, will be on our TV screens at the end of this month. Filming scenes in Potters Bar, Piper plays actress Suzie Pickles, whose life gets flipped upside down when a hacker distributes a compromising photo from her personal collection. Suzie must now try to hold her life, career and marriage together whilst feeling every emotion possible.

Online

With the recent BAFTA TV Awards virtually presented and celebrated, numerous winning productions that filmed in and around the capital are available to watch online.

Sian Clifford won Female Performance in a Comedy Programme for her role of Claire in Fleabag - the older sister of the eponymous character. Available on BBC iPlayer, Fleabag centres around a young woman trying to cope with life’s dramas, with filming taking place in Kentish Town and Highgate.

It was a big night for Stath Lets Flats, which took home Scripted Comedy as well as Jamie Demetriou bagging Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. Set in London and filmed in Edgware, the series follows incompetent Greek-Cypriot lettings agent Stath who works for the family business. Catch up now on All 4.

Will Sharpe also won Supporting Actor for his role in BBC and Netflix thriller series Giri/Haji, where a detective from Tokyo goes in search of his missing brother in London who has been accused of murder. Filming took place all over the capital, from Southwark and Bromley to Haringey, Islington and Lambeth.

Filming

Since being able to re-start production with the necessary safety measures in place, psychological horror Last Night in Soho has been finishing up additional photography at Pinewood Studios, having filmed in Soho and Spitalfields before the pandemic. Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver), and starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split), a young girl with a passion for fashion design is able to mysteriously enter the 1960s, but not all is what it seems, as time seems to fall apart.

Also filming at Pinewood Studios is Jurassic World: Dominion. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return for the third instalment of the Jurassic World franchise, as well as original Jurassic Park cast members Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern reprising their roles as palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant, Dr Ian Malcolm and Ellie Sattler respectively. Although there is much excitement around the film, the plot is being kept tightly under wraps…