Rye Lane: On the red carpet with the Raine Allen-Miller, David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah

If you needed any more reason to fall back in love with rom-coms, look no further than Rye Lane. Written by Tom Melia and Nathan Bryon, and directed by Raine Allen-Miller in her feature debut, it takes the familiar Richard Curtis-esque framework of the genre but populates it with the sights, sounds and characters of south London. It follows twenty-something, seemingly opposite characters, Yas (Vivian Oparah, of Class fame) and Dom (David Jonsson, formerly a scene-stealer in Industry), who meet in a gender-neutral art gallery toilet and end up on a whimsical adventure that covers taco eating, karaoke singing and an attempt to get back Yas’s copy of A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory from her ex. It’s a Peckham-set Before Sunrise, if you will, with plenty of cheeky nods toward gentrification and a refreshingly unsentimental view on romance that doesn’t make happy-ever-after the end goal, all against a banging soundtrack courtesy of Kwes. Keep your eyes peeled for a very relevant rom-com cameo!

The Upcoming had the pleasure of hitting the pink carpet in the apt environs of the Peckhamplex for the premiere of the movie. Allen-Miller told us why she want to throw a positive spotlight on south London with her film.

Jonsson and Oparah stopped the chat about why they were excited to come on-board with Allen-Miller’s reinvention of the romcom.

Poppy Allen-Quarmby told us about her character of Cass and the joy of seeing a London she knows captured on screen.

The writers gave us some insight into the inspiration behind the script, their love for the city, and working with the incredible cast and crew.

Producer Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo further told us about the role music plays and the importance of representation in film.

Screen and stage star Omari Douglas, who leads as Mona, also spoke about why he wanted to be involved with the production.

Sarah Bradbury

Rye Lane is released nationwide on 17^th March 2023. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Rye Lane here: