The Waiting Room at Clapham Picturehouse

12:38pm Thursday 8th November 2007

We have had Rhys Ifans posing outside a blue door in Notting Hill, and zombies marauding on the streets of Crouch End, now it is south London's turn for some big screen action.

The Waiting Room is a drama set mainly in Balham, revolving around the entangled love lives of a group of 20- and 30- something south Londoners. Its premiere, at the Edinburgh Film Festival, went so well that it was nominated for Best of the Fest.

And its official preview screening takes place this weekend at Clapham Picturehouse, followed by a Q&A session with lead actor Ralf Little and writer and director Roger Goldby.

The shoots mainly took place in Balham (Nightingale House, Ravenstone Primary and DuCane Court), as well as some houses off Tooting Common and Wandsworth station.

And, if there is anyone who knows the area well, it is Balham-based Roger: "The station is where the key moment in the film happens, where the two main characters, Steven and Anna, meet for the first time, brought together by an elderly gentlemen. It was important the location had an atmosphere to it and we were lucky as 2006 was a warm summer. When we were shooting around November, the leaves were still on the trees, all golden, it looked fantastic.

"The film had an extremely low budget so all the locations needed to be in a small area so we could get around quickly.

"The whole area is attractive and it is good to show people another side to London, as usually it's either posh north London or grit and grime."

The borough community pitched in as well, the Bedford pub in Balham donated a free room for rehearsals, the Balham Chamber of Commerce let Roger use an office, and the High Road Sainsbury's was briefly shut down for the filming of a scene (which succumbed to the editor's scissors). Plus dozens of kids and parents gave up their Sunday gratis to film a scene at Ravensstone School.

Not that this is an amateur operation. To add to its accolade at the Edinburgh Festival, Roger is an Oscar-nominated director for his short film It's Good to Talk in 1998. And Radio One film critic James King described The Waiting Room as: "An irresistibly engaging drama, full of powerful performances, grown-up romance, and unexpected humanity". And the film has been sold to America.

All this for Roger's debut feature film. "I have mainly done television but this is the low-budget end of feature films, which is not far from TV - it is the same skill you need to be able to tell a story and direct the actors and camera.

"The film was nearly made seven years ago but the money fell through.

"I have made a much better film now. I have been getting better and we have pulled together a good cast. It was serendipity as well, this time it all came together perfectly."

The Waiting Room; Clapham Picturehouse, 76 Venn Street; Nov 11, 2pm. Call 0871 704 2055 or visit picturehouses.co.uk.

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