Futuristic thriller 'Children of Men' takes London by storm

London is transported to 2027 in the new feature film 'Children of Men', in cinemas across the capital this week.
The film offers a new take on the city in terms of how London can look, what it can offer as a location, and the complex level of action sequences it can achieve. Using iconic landmarks in an unfamiliar context, the film presents a distinct and chilling vision of the capital transformed to the near future.
Shooting in the capital over eight months, the production created several major set pieces involving landmark locations, from futuristic cars and 300 extras in Trafalgar Square, to an exploding café in Fleet Street, and a range of exotic animals including zebras, camels, and llamas roaming in St James’s Park.
Adrian Wootton, CEO of Film London commented: “Children of Men demonstrates that London is able to deliver on large-scale productions with complex filming requirements to spectacular effect. The ability to stage an explosion on Fleet Street stimulating a terrorist attack just weeks after the real-life terrorist bombings in the capital in July last year, is testament to the brave and ambitious nature of London as a world-class centre for film-making and its ability to embrace difficult and risky content.”
The capital’s versatility as a filming location was further demonstrated at Tate Modern, where filming coincided with the Rachel Whiteread installation, Embankment, a gigantic white structure made from 14,000 casts from the insides of different boxes in the Turbine Hall. With agreement from the artist, and the implementation of a number of preventative measures to safeguard her work, the production was able to winch a car with a gantry crane in the Turbine Hall.
Filming also took place in locations across the city. Several scenes were shot in Woolwich town centre which played host to a range of animals and extras, whilst the Dorset Estate in Bethnal Green became a futuristic squatters’ village.
Film London provided considerable assistance to the shoot, bringing together the production, the police and Westminster City Council to overcome logistical hurdles and ensure minimum disruption to the public and general flow of traffic for the Trafalgar Square sequence. On a number of other locations Film London advised on technical recces and acted as a neutral mediator on location, liaising between the production, local councils and the local community.
The London Filming Partnership was launched last year to make filming in the capital easier. Over 120 partners have now signed up including all of London’s 33 local authorities, Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police, as well as industry bodies including the NPA,London’s film schools and its major studios.
(DS/CD)