Filming Fitzrovia

As the BFI London Film Festival turns 70 this year, we're looking back at the role Fitzrovia has played through film. From Fitzroy Square to Charlotte Street, Newman Passage to the Newman Arms, Fitzrovia has served as the setting and inspiration for cinema throughout the years.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis stars as obsessive fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock in 1950s London. Filmed at 3 Fitzroy Square, the house acts as more than a setting for the film; shots are framed through doorways and staircases, hinting at the relationship and power dynamic between Reynolds and his new muse, Alma.

Fitzroy Square, glimpsed as a backdrop through the Georgian windows of interior shots, serves as a constant reminder of the world that exists outside of Reynolds and his designs.

During filming, the crew actually moved into the house at 3 Fitzroy Square, storing equipment and moving from room to room to film each sequence.

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Location: 3 Fitzroy Square, W1T 5HG

Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie star in Last Night in Soho, a psychological horror directed by Edgar Wright.

Although the majority of the film is shot in Soho (hence the film's title), Fitzrovia also serves as backdrop for a number of scenes, including locations such as Goodge Place, Ramsay Hall on Maple Street, and Newman Passage.

The dream-like world that the film's two main characters, Sandie (Taylor-Joy) and Ellie (McKenzie), inhabit is played out across Soho and Fitzrovia, with locations such as Newman Passage used to create tension during atmospheric nighttime sequences.

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Location: Various across Fitzrovia, including Goodge Place, Rathbone Place, Maple Street and Newman Passage

Released last year, The Christophers is a black comedy directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel.

In a similar vein to Phantom Thread, the film revolves around the life of a creative, fictional artist Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), whose studio is situated at Fitzroy Square. Young artist Lori (Michaela Coel) is hired to pose as his assistant, and so ensues a story of art, friendship, and hidden agendas.

Inspired by artists such as Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, and Jackson Pollock, the setting of the studio also draws on Fitzrovia's rich artistic and creative history. 

Numerous artists have called Fitzroy Square their home and studio, including Augustus John, James McNeill Whistler, Walter Sickert and Roger Fry, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, directors of the Omega Workshops. Although the studio itself in the film was a stage set, many of the film's exterior shots were filmed on location in Fitzroy Square.

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Location: Fitzroy Square, W1T 5HG

A 1990s classic, Sliding Doors is a romantic comedy-drama directed by Peter Howitt, starring Gwyneth Paltrow as Helen Quilley.

When Helen narrowly misses her tube and the sliding doors shut before she can board, an alternative series of events unfolds. Filmed all over London, one of the film's key locations is Bertorelli's Restaurant on Charlotte Street, which serves as a meeting place for characters across parallel timelines.

Although Bertorelli's has closed down, the site is now occupied by Carousel, a restaurant and wine bar featuring a revolving line-up of international guest chefs.

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Location: 19 — 23 Charlotte Street, W1T 1RL

Michael Powell's psychological thriller revolves around serial killer and voyeuristic filmmaker Mark Lewis (Carl Boehm). 

Filmed across various locations in Fitzrovia along Rathbone Place, including the Newman Arms, Newman Passage and a former newsagent that occupied the site of what is now Italian Bear Chocolate, Peeping Tom captures 1960s Fitzrovia.

Deemed controversial when it was first released in 1960, the film has gone onto become somewhat of a cult classic, inspiring scenes in contemporary filmmaking such as Last Night in Soho (2021), referenced above.

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Locations: Various locations including Rathbone Street, Rathbone Place, Newman Arms, Newman Passage

We're sure Fitzrovia will continue to serve as inspiration for future films. Have we missed any from our list?