The Costa del Sol restaurant in Whyteleafe became a film-set for the morning recently, when a young film crew used the Spanish restaurant as the set for a dramatic scene. The group, named 'Normal People', have been working hard to put together a new gritty British film entitled 'Clenching Thoughts'. What is exceptional about the team is that it was started by two 15 year old boys from Whyteleafe. Harry Pages wrote the script and Alex J Riley is the director and co-writer. Both boys attend Warlingham Secondary School.

Alex said, “We want to put together a film that is good enough to be accepted by the BFI for inclusion in the London Film Festival. We do not have a budget for the film, so we really appreciate the help and support we are getting.”

The title scene, which shows one of the main characters walking through the streets of Caterham on his way to meet Big Al in the cafe, was filmed in late September. The opening cafe scene was filmed at Costa Del Sol where last month Jo the owner kindly made his restaurant available to the group for five hours of filming on a Saturday morning.

The project has already attracted a lot of local attention and support. One of the lead parts in the film is played by actor Terry Fromant. When asked why he got involved with the production Terry said: “One of the directors of The Arc in Caterham, told me that the group were looking for an actor to play the part of Big Al. I was interested by the description of the film but it was after reading the script that I got straight on the phone. It was as if it had been written with me in mind and I loved it.”

Make-up artist Monique who added the scars and bruises to the actors faces for the opening scene said: “I was genuinely surprised, the team were very focused and professional.”

When asked how the filming at the restaurant went Alex said: “Filming the opening scene was great, everything went really well. The extras and crew were brilliant and the acting exceeded all our expectations. However, we underestimated just how much time we would need to complete the cafe scene. The owner of Costa Del Sol has agreed to allow us to use his restaurant again to complete the scene and we are organising a future date.”

To view a video of the filming session at the Costa del Sol go www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrlkQSyu9PY

For more details, please e-mail Alex J Riley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.