Location, Location, Location

Newham and Barking & Dagenham have been part of film and television history for far longer than many people realise. Long before streaming platforms and global franchises, their studios, docks and streets have stood in for cities across the world, war zones, imagined futures and recognisably British neighbourhoods.

PictureEast Film Festival sits within this history. By bringing cinema back into local spaces, the festival celebrates not only the films we watch today, but the boroughs as places where films have been made, tested and reshaped for decades. From large-scale productions to intimate, character-led stories, Newham and Barking & Dagenham continue to shape film culture well beyond their postcodes.

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Newham: From Industrial Ground to Global Screen

Newham has long been one of East London’s most significant production hubs. At the heart of this is Three Mills Studios, one of the world’s oldest continuously operating film studios, which has supported British and international filmmaking for decades. Stanley Kubrick filmed parts of Full Metal Jacket (1987) here, turning East London into Vietnam. Since then, the studio has hosted a wide range of work, from crime dramas and thrillers to animation and television, including Luther (2010), Legend (2015), and Fantastic Mr Fox (2009). 

Beyond the studio, Newham’s industrial landscape has repeatedly been transformed for the screen. Beckton Gasworks appeared in both Full Metal Jacket (1987) and Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun (1987), while Millenium Mills, a landmark of the borough’s industrial past, became the setting for a major action sequence in Spider Man: Far From Home (2019).

The borough’s docks and waterways have also played a central role. The Royal Docks featured in the Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999), while Victoria Dock and Connaught Bridge were used for large-scale scenes in A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) involving hundreds of cast and crew. These productions show why Newham continues to attract ambitious filmmaking, not just as a convenient location, but as a place with real scale and visual impact. 

At the same time, Newham has become an important setting for quieter, more intimate stories. Residential areas such as East Village, Stratford appear in All of Us Strangers (2023), telling a deeply personal story in a recognisable contemporary setting. Stratford is also the setting for Urchin (2025), a raw, independent film that focuses on marginalised lives and overlooked communities. Rather than using the area as a backdrop, Urchin makes Stratford part of the story itself, showing how everyday streets and social spaces can shape powerful, human narratives. This range is what defines Newham’s on-screen identity. 

Urchin (2025)

BARKING & DAGENHAM: EVERYDAY SPACES ON SCREEN

While Newham is often linked to studios and large-scale productions, Barking & Dagenham’s screen presence is shaped by realism. Its streets, parks, and community spaces are regularly used to tell stories that depend on recognisable, everyday settings rather than spectacle.

Barking Riverside and surrounding industrial areas have featured in major global productions. Parts of The Batman (2022) was filmed here, while the borough has also doubled for international locations in films such as Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Doctor Strange (2016), and Black Widow (2021). These films show how Barking & Dagenham can quietly become part of the world’s biggest franchises without losing its local character. 

Other productions lean into the borough’s grounded feel. Gangs of London (2020) used Barking Riverside for large-scale scenes. The drama Stephen (2021) filmed in London-east UK Science Park and Dagenham Warehouses, and Baptiste Series 2 (2021) used former factory buildings at LondonEast-UK Science Park before Eastbrook Studios opened in 2025. 

Everyday spaces play a role too. Rainham Road South appeared in Luther (2010), and the underpass beneath the A12 was used in Harry Brown (2009), showing how ordinary roads and infrastructure can carry tension and atmosphere when framed through film.

Across the borough, residential streets, industrial edges and riverside spaces have often doubled for other parts of London and the UK, making Barking & Dagenham a reliable choice for filmmakers looking for scale, realism and authenticity.

Final Score (2018)

Together, Newham and Barking & Dagenham reflect East London’s long-standing contribution to cinema. From global franchises to British television and independent film, these boroughs have supported a wide range of productions. Their strength lies in their ability to stand in for other places while still feeling real and grounded. 

For PictureEast Film Festival, this legacy is not just something to look back on. By bringing cinema back into local spaces, the festival continues a tradition of filmmaking rooted in place, community and shared experience, reinforcing the idea that film culture already lives within these boroughs.