Rob Wray: Screen star

Shannon Denny meets Bermondsey Square's picture perfect Rob Wray

When I meet Rob Wray at his brand-new venture, Shortwave Cinema in the revitalised Bermondsey Square, it's obvious that he's a committed worker. After all, he maintained his vision of establishing this independent movie theatre through thick and thin, sticking with the development as it hit every delay imaginable. But he actually owes his entire career to bunking off work one day.

"I was working on a building site in Ireland," he says. "I went out one Friday night clubbing and didn't fancy going to work the next day. I went to the cinema instead. There was a sign on the wall saying they were running a film course. I ended up getting on to it, produced two shorts and got bitten by the bug."

Rob returned to London and apparently found very little reason to venture away from his birthplace again. Having entered the world at St Thomas' Hospital and grown up just off East Street, he's used the estates and lanes of his youth as inspiration for his films, as well as the setting for some of his legendary events.

He set up Shortwave to promote short filmmakers, DJs and bands, and hosted happenings in clubs, bars and warehouses all over the city. The idea for the cinema goes all the way back to the early years: "I was getting good critical reviews but there wasn't any money coming in," he explains. "The only way of making it more sustainable was to have my own space."

In what was to become a bit of a habit, Rob turned to his local environment to move his ideas forward. "I did a course at London College of Printing, as it was called then, in enterprise management in the arts. That basically was about me putting together a business plan to open up an independent cinema."

Meanwhile, he carried on behind the camera. His short film Race was nominated for best London film at the inaugural London Short Film Festival at the ICA. "That was literally made on 200 quid and a few cans of Stella!" he laughs. While Shortwave didn't walk home with the prize that night, the winning film went on to get an Oscar.

Another project was the short film Bermondsey Square recently at the centre of the celebrations to launch the mixed-use SE1 space. It explored the huge historical and cultural significance of the site through the eyes of architects, excavators, market traders, artists and builders. But while the film lasts 20 minutes, the story in real time took considerably longer. Each archaeological discovery meant planning adjustments, logistical challenges, budgetary considerations and, ultimately, countless delays. While consultations had begun the same year that Rob started Shortwave - 1999 - construction didn't commence until 2006. In the months and years leading up to ribbon cutting, Rob seized the opportunity to continue directing, managing and hosting events.

In south London, he organised a screening in Borough Market, ran an outdoor cinema on the Aylesbury Estate and managed the Bermondsey Street Festival. He also kept himself busy directing Elefest, the annual arts festival in the Elephant and Castle. Elefest started out mixing classic, new and international cinema with locally produced short films, but has now expanded to include live music, dance, photography and literature, with the involvement of local arts organisations such as the Coronet Theatre, Tate Modern and Siobhan Davies Dance Studios.

"I was sick of having to go over to Brick Lane and Shoreditch to put on events," he reveals. "We have a lot happening here and we need to have something - otherwise it is a bit like two roundabouts, a shopping centre and a housing estate. We need to celebrate it in some way." Rob is hard at work on both September's Bermondsey Street Festival and October's Elefest, continuing to prop up his stomping grounds on a platform of quality culture.

He's applying that formula over in Bermondsey Square too. The cinema was always a focal point of the blueprints - it was proposed as a result of the initial public consultation and became a requirement of the planning permission - but now it's a focal point of the community, too. The 52-seat venue screens films four days a week with a programme that suits the area's bohemian flavour. "It's always going to be a bit more leftfield, a bit arty - that's what it was built for. A small but perfectly formed cinema showing Hannah Montana? That's never going to happen."

So what is going to happen? Plans include everything from training programmes to community use of the studio facilities to children's screenings. Rob, it seems, is now more entrenched in the local environment than ever. Not only is he managing director of a bricks and mortar business, he's also bought a house just a short stretch from the venue on Southwark Park Road. "I never lived in a house before," he says. So now he has his own front door to the street and a garden in the back? "Yeah - I've never drunk so many gin and tonics!" he laughs. With all the thirsty work involved in Shortwave, no doubt he's earned them.

The Bermondsey Street Festival takes place 19 September, Elefest runs 9-16 October, and Shortwave screens films Thursdays to Sundays with tickets for all shows £6 (£5 concs). See www.shortwavefilms.co.uk

Rob Wray: Screen star

Members Comments

Add a Comment