TIC Film Festival is the magic lantern that draws inspiration from the incredibly rich and international history of the docks in Thurrock. Through film, the most powerful and eloquent heights of human imagination are created and infinite landscapes of the mind communicated. TIC Film is a festival where audiences come to discover unexpected visions and contra-transitions of filmmakers from all over the world.

TIC Film is in Grays. Physically, it is a town adjacent to the strategic Thurrock ports of the Port of Tilbury and London Gateway. Virtually, it is home to the area’s international pathways of history. This unassuming border along the Thames has embraced the world.

The Port of Tilbury began in 1886, the beginning of the steamship era. It was where ‘Ten Pound Poms’ set off for a new life in Australia. It was also where many immigrants entered, including West Indians on the Empire Windrush in 1948.

Today, Tilbury Cruise Terminal continues to operate as London’s passenger liner terminal and London Gateway berths some of the largest container ships in the world. And since 2017, the Silk Road Train has linked Thurrock with China across the landmass of Eurasia.

TIC Film is that edge where local and international articulate.