Director Raine Allen-Miller emerged as a rising star in 2018 with the release of her short film Jerk, about an older Jamaican man’s battle with depression (Allen-Miller has been open about her own struggles with anxiety and depression).  She was approached to develop a feature length film, based on a script by Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia: a modern take on the meet-cute romcom, set in Camden.  

Allen-Miller moved the setting to Peckham and nearby Brixton as she had “such a strong connection with both places … I never had really had that much passion for Camden” (she grew up in Brixton from the age of 12, and lived in Peckham when studying at Camberwell College of Arts).  The film was shot during the COVID pandemic, entirely on location in Peckham, Brixton and the South Bank – “that was really important for us, to celebrate places”.  Her aim was to create “a love letter to South London … it is a third character in the film”.  

Rye Lane debuted to acclaim at the Sundance International Film Festival, going on to be a big hit both at the UK box office and with critics.  Appropriately, the UK premiere was held at Rye Lane’s famous Peckhamplex cinema, with local residents in the audience – an experience director Raine Allen-Miller found “20% nerve-wracking, 80% joy”. 

“It is quite simply, utterly delightful … There is craft and care here, in a genre that often settles for utilitarian blandness” John Nugent, Empire Online

“Effortlessly combines the ‘limited time’ romcom format of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy with the in-your-face visual cheekiness of Peep Show.” Mark Kermode, Observer