HELEN McCrory – who you may recognise from such films as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – is due to appear in the next 007 film Skyfall next year. Currently though she's working on Flying Blind, a love story set against the twin backdrops of Bristol and Filton Airfield.

It tells the story of an older woman having an affair with a young immigrant, but with engineer as her job it means plenty of time spent at the rather topical airfield.

Flying Blind even includes something that reality has yet to imitate; a dedicated museum for Concorde.

From Brunel's Clifton Suspension bridge to an Easton mosque via the city centre, Harbourside and The Downs, almost every scene was shot in the city.

The main character Frankie's flat is in The Paragon, one of Clifton's most sought-after addresses. With its enormous rooms and incredible views, it's not hard to see why.

Producer Alison Sterling, of Bristol-based Ignition Films, said: "It could only have been set in Bristol. Frankie's father was an engineer on Concorde. Airbus have been absolutely brilliant and allowed us to film on site.

"We even have a fictionalised Concorde museum."

One of director Kasia Klimkiewicz's favourite scenes takes place in Corn Street.

She said: "There's an erotic scene in an alleyway on a Friday night. It started to rain which made the whole scene even better.

"Bristol is very cinematic, with the architecture and the space. It's very filmic."

Despite high-profile departures like Casualty – in which cast member Tristan Gemmill once starred – the pair believe Bristol has plenty to offer the silver screen.

"It's very easy because everything's so close. Bristol is the perfect size," Alison said.

"The Film Office (run by Bristol City Council) were really helpful and everyone is very friendly.

"They can sort out road closures, offer up places to film, everything a film maker needs.

"Compare that to shooting in London where everybody's cynical. It's a nightmare."

The film is one of three made as part of South West Screen's iFeature project. Launched in 2009 and backed by the BBC and the city council among others, it set out to support film makers that don't have deep pockets.

The only real requirement is that the films could only be made in Bristol.

Flying Blind mixes a wealth of local talent with an instantly recognisable cast, and all on the absolutely tiny budget of £300,000.

By comparison Skyfall has a budget of £100 million, and even romantic dramas like One Day can cost as much as £10 million to make.

Alison joked that the sandwich budget for the 23rd Bond film is probably bigger than the amount being spent on Flying Blind.

As anyone who saw the last Bond film Quantum of Solace will tell you though, lots of money doesn't always equal a great film.

And from an actor's point of view there are definite advantages of working on a smaller scale.

Helen said: "The huge benefit is the fluidity and the fact that you are not doing the same scene for 21 days.

"When you talk to directors who are promoted into directing enormous great studio films, you can often see their frustrations that they are supposed to be right at the top and yet every single decision has to go through a thousand signatures. We don't have time for that here."

For a film with such a small budget, Flying Blind has certainly attracted a cast of familiar, and highly-acclaimed, faces.

Helen's father is played by veteran actor Kenneth Cranham who has appeared in dozens of films ranging from Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz and Tom Cruise's Valkyrie to the 1960s version of Oliver! alongside the legendary Oliver Reed.

Najib Oudghiri, who plays her lover, was in the 2007 film Rendition alongside Hollywood stars Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Today starts the last week of a four-week shoot – which is no time at all in the film world.

A cast and crew of around 40 people have been working 11-hour days, six days a week to make sure it's all done in time.

Editing of the film will take place early next year and the team hope to complete in by May.

Then they take it on the festival circuit in the hope of selling it.

But it's a long journey from page to the cinema screen and it will have taken nearly four years before the initial idea finally comes to fruition.

It started back in November 2009, when Alison and Kasia met at the Encounters Film Festival – another Bristol venture.

Alison said: "I had a four-page outline, and I was looking for a European director.

"I saw Kasia's film and I thought it was brilliant."

Kasia's short film, Hanoi Warsaw, was being shown for the first time at a festival and went on to win the 2010 European film award for best short.

Alison also has a pedigree, having co-produced the BAFTA-nominated short film Turning, screened at more than 20 other international festivals.

Even one of the co-writers is from Bristol.

"Local writer Caroline Harrington wanted to write something about Concorde," Alison said.

"She remembered that day back in 2003 when it flew over everyone's heads.

"She wanted to write as story about a female engineer, that evolved into a love story and then with this political element.

"It was always a Bristol project – the whole project was about telling Bristol stories."

Flying Blind is the last of three features approved in November 2010 under the iFeatures project to be filmed.

The first, In the Dark Half, received its world premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London last month.

The second film, Eight Minutes Idle, is currently in post-production.

iFeatures executive producer Chris Moll said: "As with all the iFeatures movies, Bristol itself is also a leading character. "The film will strongly feature the city's glorious contrasts, from Georgian splendour to gritty inner-city suburbs bisected by a motorway flyover."

For more on Ignition Films go to www.ignitionfilms.org and for iFeatures visit www.ifeatures.co.uk.