Thurrock Film Festival 2015

You could hardly say that Thurrock is the Hollywood of the South East, but the area has certainly  been part of film history. The State Cinema in Grays played host to Bob Hoskins and an animated bunny in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Coalhouse Fort doubled as a prison in Batman Begins, as well as other parts of the borough turning up in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, 28 Days Later and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

With such a connection to the movies, a local film festival was a logical next step. And that is what happened in 2012 with the debut of the Thurrock International Film Festival.

 

Founded by Natalie and Ben Scarsbrook, the festival is now an annual event that gives filmmakers a chance to showcase their work to the public. 

For a film lover such as myself, this festival is a godsend. A chance to see the work of new talented directors and actors alongside classic films such as Grease and Psycho (and that was last year alone). It also gave me the opportunity to meet one of my ultimate heroes, Barry Norman.

Waiting to get my book signed by Mr Norman

The Film Festival is now open for submissions and has several categories including animation, documentary and music video. If you're quick enough, you can take advantage of their early bird price which ends 1st March 2015, although the actual submission deadline isn't until 1st June 2015. All information can be found on their website, www.thurrockfilm.co.uk.

As for myself, I don't have the patience (or indeed the talent) to create a film, but I look forward to another year of writing about the new, and classic, films available at the Thurrock International Film Festival.