A huge film was premiered recently near Wokingham.

The Boys in the Boat, directed by George Clooney, was filmed at Winnersh Studios and on the River Thames in the borough and was released last Friday January 12. 

The Boys in the Boat, George Clooney’s latest directorial venture, tells the story of the young men, many rowing novices, who prevailed over the lingering effects of the Great Depression to represent their country at the Olympics.

“I like the idea of people coming together against odds and actually accomplishing something,” says Clooney, 62, of the true story behind his new film.

“And I’m of an age that we used to watch a lot of films like this. This is a little bit old-fashioned. And I like to see it.

“You know, I’ve done a lot of cynical films in my life. I like them, I think they’re fun. Maybe I’m just getting mushy in my old age, but I kind of wanted to see something where everybody was working towards one goal and succeeding, you know?”

Clooney’s film follows Joe Rantz, played by British actor Callum Turner, who was abandoned by his father and stepmother and raised himself from the age of 15.