Who we are
Lock The Tent Productions is an award-winning film production company based in the UK. We work across both the documentary and narrative space, specialising in hard hitting films that entertain and excite the viewer. Our factual work has a particular focus on raising awareness for the most pressing issues of our time, with an aim to help create some positive change.
Founded by Thomas Pickering in 2020, the company has released a number of highly praised films, with an exciting slate in production.
Based in Yorkshire, we champion local talent and pride ourselves on being a green production company, making films that matter but don’t cost the earth in the process.
About Tom
Tom’s earliest memories can be traced back to those magical moments when first watching films, starting with ‘Jurassic Park’, the first film he ever saw at the cinema. From an early age he found his purpose – to tell stories on the big screen.
After graduating from university, Tom threw himself into the world of short filmmaking, learning the tricks of the trade and finding his visual style as a director and editor with a string of successful and award-winning short films.
In 2019 he took on the huge task of directing his first feature length documentary – ‘I Could Never Go Vegan’. This ignited his passion to tell stories that inspire, engage and excite audiences, with the film released across UK and Ireland cinemas in 2024 to huge critical acclaim, including four-star reviews from Total Film and The Guardian, followed by an Italian cinema run, and then released widely across streaming platforms.
Tom splits his time between narrative and factual filmmaking, and in 2024 he released the award-winning short film ‘What a Catch’, which premiered at the world-renowned FrightFest, followed by a highly successful festival run. Building on this momentum, Tom then directed his debut feature length narrative film, a Christmas thriller titled ‘He Kills at Night’.
The film premiered at FrightFest in 2025, receiving great reviews, and will be released on streaming platforms in the UK, US and Benelux regions on December 2.
Tom intends to continue making films that have the power to excite and thrill an audience but also present an impactful and heartfelt message at their core.