52 Films by Women Vol 7. 33. RYE LANE (Director: Raine Allen-Miller)
I grew up in Peckham in South London in the 1970s. It was not a place where romance blossomed. If I was late for my paper round, the newsagent would hit me. On my early morning delivery, two boys walking towards me would think nothing of beating me up. On a separate occasion, in Peckham Park Road, less than 300 yards from my house, I was forced to the ground and kicked whilst passers-by ignored the casual violence. I recall the bruised face of a local shopkeeper after a particular vicious assault as he served customers the next day. Peckham is home to large housing estates and, when I was growing up, very little entertainment, apart from, of course, you guessed it. Still, the tips I received at Christmas counted as danger money. Peckham had streets where you walked head down, averting your gaze from others. My wife complains that I walk too fast. My pace was set by my need to get from ‘A’ to ‘B’ as quickly as possible, avoiding notice. I watched movies in the Elephant and Castl...