After spending years filming around the world, Ali’s creative life landed her in London. Take a spin around her pit-stop guide ft. all the hidden cinemas, cafes and markets she’s uncovered in her neighbourhood.
London with Ali Alvarez
Film Director
Location Chatsworth Road Market
‘On Sundays, right at the end of my road is a coffee stand, street food, fashion, people creating, setting up stalls and doing their thing. They’re called the Chatsworth Road Market.’
46-51 Chatsworth Road, Lower Clapton, London, E5 0LH
Nature Hackney Marshes
‘We’d walk up to Hackney Marshes and have a look around, because anyone would be amazed that a green space like that exists in the city, but it’s one of the must do experiences in London.’
Homerton Rd, London E9 5PF
Culture The Castle Cinema
‘There’s an old cinema where you can catch movies, get a bite to eat, get a cocktail. The Castle Cinema is the hidden gem of this neighbourhood.’
First Floor, 64-66 Brooksby’s Walk, Hackney, London, E9 6DA
Food & Drink Morito
‘We can have dinner at Morito, which is in London Fields. It’s the east London outpost of the original Clerkenwell restaurant.’
195 Hackney Road, London, E2 8JL
Food & Drink The Wolseley
‘We could totally splash out and go to The Wolseley, up there with the best restaurants in London. It’s bang in the center of the city, it’s quite posh and expensive. It’s a beautiful restaurant, you walk in and there’s this amazing staircase and it’s just really a proper English kind of beautiful.’
160 Piccadilly, St James’s, London, W1J 9EB
“There’s the old buildings, the new, the green spaces smack in the middle of the city. The contrast of people and cultures, there are so many cultures here.”
On London in one word
Contrast.
I don’t want to sound generic, but for me, London is just a contrast. It’s really British and really proper, but then at the same time, they’re crazy drinkers and when the sun shines in London people go mental — they’re crazy. All properness goes right out the window when the sun comes out.
On London’s green spaces
I can’t navigate a city without knowing where the green spaces are. London is so green, I think that’s why I’ve been here so long. There are so many parks. I live in an area called Lower Clapton and it connects to Hackney Marshes and then that connects onto Walthamstow Marshes.
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On the perfect day in Clapton
One thing that I love about London is the local markets. On Sundays, right at the end of my road is a coffee stand, street food, fashion, people creating, setting up stalls and doing their thing. They’re called the Chatsworth Road Market. We’d walk up to Hackney Marshes and have a look around, because anyone would be amazed that a green space like that exists in the city, but it’s one of the must do experiences in London. Then we’d walk back down to the market, pick up breakfast or lunch, depending on the time of day.
On dinner in London
We can have dinner at Morito, which is in London Fields. It’s the east London outpost of the original Clerkenwell restaurant. If money wasn’t an option we could totally splash out and go to The Wolseley. It’s bang in the center of London, it’s quite posh and expensive. I think it used to be a Wolseley Motors showroom. It’s a beautiful restaurant, you walk in and there’s this amazing staircase and it’s just really a proper English kind of beautiful. I’ve only eaten there twice, but it’s such a treat.
On finding inspiration
In general, I’m super inspired by human behavior and human insight: whether that’s connecting to personal stories from my films, or really trying to find a personal connection to whatever I’m doing in advertising. It’s about people, and that’s why I love cities: they’re packed with people. I remember when I first moved to London, everyone was so different. I’d ride the bus and hear 12 different languages. In a city you have to live together, alongside all of the differences. Don’t you love that?
On where to look for inspiration in London
There’s a little place that I used to go to all the time when I first lived here. It’s near Soho and it’s called the RIBA Library (Royal Institute of British Architects). It’s so posh and a very beautiful building. They have this gorgeous library full of all these architecture books. I remember going in there to think, and to come up with ideas. I would absolutely recommend any person to go there, it’s one of the best experiences in London.
A way to save some money in the city is hunting down the best cheap eats whilst exploring. Try Berwick Street Market in Soho, Covent Garden for pre-theatre menus or head further out to Brixton for some world-class Caribbean food.
On where you’re from
I was born in Mexico City. Both my parents are Mexican and when they had kids they decided to go spend some time in the US, so they moved us to LA. From age six to about 24, I was in LA.
On moving to London
At art school I took advertising classes. At that time, the best agency in the world that everyone was talking about was Mother, which was based in London. And I just thought, ‘I’m going to get a job there’. I’d never been to London before. I didn’t even know you needed a visa to live there. I just packed a bag and came. Mother didn’t hire me, but another agency did. That was 20 years ago. And then, as you do, I got wrapped up in the city.
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On finding quiet connections in big cities
My connection to nature must come from having grown up riding horses and connecting with animals. When I lost my Mom I didn’t really want to get close to people, but I knew I could get close to horses. They were my best friends. When you live in a city it’s hard to have a horse, but you can connect with the plants and animals — the dogs and the greenery. I love not having to talk. You can’t talk to a horse because they don’t use words. Even dogs use words, but horses don’t.
On finding your tribe in London
For me, it was through finding the creative community. I did a very typical American thing and moved to Notting Hill. It’s beautiful there, very picturesque London. But I remember asking people, where are the warehouses? All my friends in LA lived in warehouses, and that’s where all the parties were. It took me a while to find East London, where everyone’s living in warehouses. If I was transplanting myself to a new city today, I would try to find where the creative community lived.
On rebuilding your memory through filmmaking
The way that I create is so intertwined with my personal experience of life. I was in a really bad horse-riding accident. The horse slipped, I fell and hit my head really hard, and suffered a traumatic brain injury. I was in the hospital for a month, and I lost my memory for two weeks. I had to learn to write and walk again. But there was one memory that I could recall: on the morning of my accident, I was in my office recording myself to try and raise money to make this film. I remember the white chair I was in, the camera on the tripod in front of me, my dog getting in the frame, and a map of Mexico on the wall behind me. I don’t remember anything else from that day, but I did remember the process of trying to make this film. So I said, if that’s the thing that I remember, I have to make this film. My life then took this right turn from advertising to filmmaking. I rehabilitated from the accident by making Muerte es Vida. It follows the monarch butterflies from Canada to Mexico, and it reconnected me back to America and Mexico — to the real roots of where I was from. It was so important after the accident, as I was trying to find myself and find my place in the world again.
On inspiration on your doorstep
My street is so important to me. They’re my family, I know almost everyone. And to do something like COVID in a city, you really lean on them to be the ones that you have your chats with, or you’re sharing boredom, or your frustrations or fears.
“When you can’t go travelling around the world to be inspired, you get inspired by the little things on your street. ”
Next Stop: London
Creators
Joey Yu
Illustrator
Our born and bred London illustrator reveals a surprisingly green city. Take a tour with Joey around her favourite hidden parks, one-of-a-kind trinket shops and royal tea houses for a true insider look at the city.
Astrid Stavro
Graphic Designer and Speaker
Over the last 14 years, Astrid has collected some of the best kept secret spots in London. From restaurants among the clouds, hidden museums and fine-dining French bistros, you won’t want to miss these next time you’re in the city.
Mariano Vivanco
Photographer
The world-renowned fashion photographer has shot for everyone from Vogue to Vanity Fair. Take a stroll along his streets to discover pocket-sized Peruvian restaurants, queue-worthy cafes and stunning florists.
For more exceptional creators, visit www.exceptionalalien.com
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