From 24 -30 June 2012 the Thurrock International Film Festival will take place at Thameside Theatre in Grays, Essex. It is the exciting new venture of Natalie Williams and Benjamin Scarsbrook, two film studies graduates interested in bringing their area’s filmmaking related history to the forefront, as well as allowing a wonderful opportunity for amateur and professional filmmakers alike to have their films screened and showcased publicly. Here, Positivexposure speaks to Natalie and Benjamin about the festival and what to expect during the week-long event:

How did the idea of a film festival in Thurrock first come about? 
We graduated from university in film studies, and for part of our final year we had to organise the exhibition of our graduate films. All we had to do was book a room in the college and screen the films, but we saw an opportunity to take the idea further. This ended with us hosting a one-day film festival in Carmarthen, Wales that was on local radio, in all the local newspapers, and was featured on national TV (S4C’s flagship show, Wedi 7). When we got back to Thurrock, we realised there wasn’t an opportunity for a filmmaker in the borough to showcase their talent in any way. So instead of waiting for someone else to come along and arrange something, we decided to take matters into our own hands and organise it ourselves.

What do you hope your festival will bring to or add to the area?
Thurrock already has a rich history of filmmaking, either by playing host to film productions (Batman Begins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and 28 Days Later) or producing filmmakers themselves (Mick Jackson, Ian Abercrombie, Russell Brand and Phil Davis). We want the people of Thurrock to be proud of this as well as give local filmmakers the chance to show off their talent. Ideally, we want to create some kind of network of filmmakers in the local area as at the moment, again, there is little chance to meet one another. 

Who is on your judging panel? 
So far we have actors Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock, X-Men: First Class, Benjamin Button), Phil Davis (Alien 3, Vera Drake, Quadrophenia) and Pauline Quirke (Emmerdale, founder of the Pauline Quirke Academies) as well as renowned stunt and movement choreographer, Terry Notary (Avatar, X-Men, The Hobbit, Rise of the Apes). We are in talks with many more well-known names and hope to announce several more additions to our judging panel in the coming months. 

What kinds of events are included in the festival?
There will be screenings of submitted films as well as special screenings of commercial films (titles of those films will be announced soon); there will be workshops for school children and the public run by local A-Level film students, as well as talks and an evening with film critic Barry Norman. The festival will close with an awards ceremony where the best submitted film in each category will receive an award. There will also be awards for Best in Festival, Audience Choice, Best Performance, Best Editing, and Best Direction.

Are there prizes for winning films? What are they?
Each winner will receive a trophy and a certificate, and some of the awards will receive extra prizes that have been donated by Stop Motion Pro and Grass Valley. 

What is your favourite genre that is included in the festival?
Our categories are fiction, documentary, animation, student, experimental, music video, under 16, international, and foreign language. It’s hard to pick a favourite out of those; it will all depend on the films we get. 

What are you most looking forward to during the festival?
Possibly the awards ceremony when everyone is gathered together. It will be nice to have all the filmmakers in one room all talking to each other, swapping stories and ideas – that’s our aim.

Do you have future goals for the festival? If so, what are they?
We hope that it will be an annual event and eventually we want to be able to pass the torch to the next generation to run with a long lasting legacy of creative filmmaking excellence in Thurrock. We want to build on our success each year and help the festival grow from one year to the next. 

Why should people choose to visit this film festival in particular?
We are the newest international film festival in the United Kingdom and as such we promise to provide a program of events that will have something on offer for any film fan, young or old. 

How much do festival tickets cost?
Tickets are £3 an event or you can buy a festival pass for £28 and go to everything! Tickets will be on sale soon through the Thameside Theatre Box Office (tel: 0845-300-5264). The previously mentioned evening with Barry Norman is ticketed separately.

Who should be contacted with questions regarding the festival?
Any questions can be emailed to us at info@thurrockfilm.co.uk

Do you have a film you’re interested in submitting? You can find the submission information here. You can also visit the Thurrock International Film Festival website for more information.