Washing Away – Documenting London’s Last Launderettes

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, doing laundry may seem like a mundane chore. Yet, within the walls of a launderette, it becomes a uniquely personal experience, performed in the presence of strangers. Amidst the whirring of machines and swirling suds, conversations spark, forming connections among those gathered, however briefly.

For Producer/Director, Sophie Nielsen, the launderette holds nostalgic memories of Sunday mornings spent with her mother, surrounded by the warmth of dryers and the hum of chatter. It was a place where people from all walks of life converged, sharing in the simplicity of everyday tasks.

However, the fate of these community hubs hangs in the balance, as rising costs and the tide of gentrification threaten to erase them from our high streets. Determined to preserve their essence, she embarked on a mission to capture their stories before they fade into obscurity.

Venturing into local launderettes, Sophie observed the ebb and flow of daily life, encountering tales of resilience and adaptation. Dimitri, a young man thrust into running his family’s launderette after his mother’s passing and assisted by his first class business degree, exemplified the struggles and triumphs hidden within these unassuming spaces.

With no funding available for the film, Sophie rallied a dedicated team to bring her vision to life to document the soul of London’s launderettes, somehow drumming up a crew to work for free – not an easy feat in the current industry climate. Her DOP Jack Harrison is a close friend of over 10 years, and extremely supportive for helping her to make a first documentary. Laura, Production Manager and Co Producer, Jemaima, Assistant Producer and Liz Robinson, Exec Producer are all work colleagues and friends of friends in the business, who after hearing about the idea, and its close brush with being funded by Netflix in their 2023 Documentary Talent Fund, jumped at the opportunity to help make the film a reality. She was grateful to have such a strong, passionate and talented team working together to produce the film.

However, she still didn’t have any money, so entered VMI’s ‘She’s Got This’ film competition, since her film had both a sustainability message and a mainly female crew, which promoted inclusivity and environmental consciousness and was delighted when she won first prize convincingly. 

With kit now sorted, she sprung into action and started lining up shoot days, finalising contributors and planning routes on the ‘Tour De Launderette’ and with the chance to really get what they had dreamed of in terms of kit, chose a camera and lens package that played to the retro aesthetic of the spaces that they would be filming in with a super-slow-motion Phantom to add production value.

“We knew we’d be shooting in very small spaces with a minimal light set up too, so we landed on the Sony Venice II camera as it delivers phenomenal images with very little noise, even in challenging lighting conditions. With colour an important part of the creative vision for the film, it also excels at high dynamic range imaging, providing unprecedented creative freedom in grading. We paired this with FF Cooke Panchro Classics which would allow Jack to utilize most of the sensor whilst also achieving some vintage texture with the image. We knew we wanted to bring out emotion and character in people’s faces in the film too, so these lenses also having qualities which enabled us to convey more emotion in their work were a perfect choice.

The most exciting part of the kit hire for all of us has to be the Phantom VEO 4K – a camera that shoots up to 1,000 fps – which you can imagine with fast moving motion around us from the washing machines and tumble dryers was a sweet shop for us! We also decided to shoot some objects relative to launderettes, and thus began a wild experiment in shooting spinning pound coins, soap powder and even climbing on top of washing machines to blow bubbles, just to get that perfectly timed and framed shot.”

Sophie Nielsen

Yet, it was the unexpected moments that truly encapsulated the spirit of the project. From impromptu hailstorms to impassioned pleas for preservation, each experience underscored the fragility of these community spaces.

Through the “She’s Got This” competition and crowdfunding efforts, the team finally realised Sophie’s dream and the resulting film seeks not only to immortalize the fading beauty of launderettes but also to celebrate their role as bastions of community and tradition in an increasingly digital world.

As society continues to evolve, we need to remember the importance of physical, real life spaces in fostering communities – not just through the ones we find online. In documenting the stories within launderettes, she hopes to inspire others to cherish the simple joys of human connection, before they are washed away forever.

VMI was very happy to support the film and you too can donate to Sophie’s Crowdfunder page to help raise funds in order for her to complete the film: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/washingawaydoc