Welcome to Curiosity (2018)

Amrita Acharia as Zoe walks down an empty country road. She wears a red and white skirt, oversized denim jacket and black boots.

Amrita Acharia in Welcome to Curiosity (2018) © Shooting Tiger Pictures

Welcome to Curiosity (2018) follows four interconnected stories as a group of people in the small town of Curiosity find themselves linked to a notorious serial killer. It was the world’s first film to raise its entire production budget through crowdfunding.

The film was directed by Ben Pickering (Two Days in the Smoke, Election Night) and written by Darren Ripley (Two Days in the Smoke). The lead cast includes Christian Solimeno (Guilt, Hollyoaks) as Dexter, Eke Chukwu (Inside Man, How We Met) as Al, Gary Grant (Enemy Lines, The Lazarus Project) as Tim and Amrita Acharia (Game of Thrones, The Sister) as Zoe.

Various scenes were shot on the streets of Gravesend and Rochester. Fort Borstal also features, doubling as an abandoned warehouse where the criminals return after their heist and Fordy (Richard Blackwood) tries to double-cross them.

Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent on the south bank of the Thames. Gravesend’s pier is the oldest remaining cast-iron pier in the world, and the town also boasts an unspoilt promenade, high street and two shopping centres. Previous productions to have filmed here include The Escape (2018), The Interceptor (2015) and The Long Memory (1953).

Rochester City has the feel of a medieval market town, with cathedral, castle ruin and unspoilt high street by the River Medway. Built in 1895, Fort Borstal was designed to hold the high ground southwest of Rochester. Used as an anti-aircraft battery in WWII, then later a pig farm and Young Offenders Institute storage space, the site has now been sold and converted into living accommodation. Previous productions to have filmed in Rochester include Jekyll and Hyde (2015), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012) and Last Orders (2002).

Welcome to Curiosity (2018) was released on Friday 8th June 2018 and is available to purchase on Amazon Prime.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.


Zoe and the Astronaut (2018)

Zoe and the Astronaut Film poster depicting close up, side profile shot of a Max Scully as the Astronaut and Kirsten Foster as Zoe looking out to sea. Zoe and the astronaut reads in blue in the centre

Zoe and the Astronaut official film poster © Sahara Road

Writer: Eke Chukwu
Director: Eke Chukwu
Starring: Kirsten Foster, Ian Reddington, Lisa Moorish, Max Scully
Production Company: Independent Film
Kent Locations Used: Tankerton Beach, Whitstable

A gripping combination of romance and sci-fi, Zoe and the Astronaut tells the heart-warming story of a Leukaemia patient, who sees a space pod crash in a field near her home and inside is a young astronaut. She uses her last days showing him the beauty of life on Earth.

Eke Chukwu (Hood, London Virgin) wrote, directed and produced Zoe and the Astronaut. Kirsten Foster (Lewis, Jekyll & Hyde (2015)), Max Scully (Blood on Canvas, Ginger & Rosa (2012)), Lisa Moorish (Murder in Mind, Vote Debra Gray) and Ian Reddington (Highlander, The Sisters Brothers) star in this independent film.

Filming took place on Tankerton Beach for the final sequence of the film. Tankerton Beach is a shingle beach with wooden beach huts along the coastline, as well as the grassy slopes that run alongside the shingles. There is a sailing club, and a skate park facing the beach, as well as phenomenal views. At a low tide, a walkway known as ‘The Street’ is revealed going out towards the sea. Productions to have filmed at Tankerton Beach include Britain at Low Tide – Series 3 (2019) and Kathy Burke’s All Woman (2019).

Zoe and the Astronaut was released on the 4th May 2018.

For more information about Kent’s filming history, please visit out Movie Map.