LATEST NEWS & FEATURES
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett & Matt Burkey for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
A list of festivals for local filmmakers and film fans taking place in the Midlands region of the UK
Tickets for the 20th Flatpack Festival (8–16 May) go on sale on 30 March, with UK premieres spanning cinema, music and audio-visual art plus some fantastic one off events for their anniversary.
Derby's rather excellent Darkness In The Fields Film Festival returns for 2026 promising another full day of folky horro scares featuring new films and filmmakers.
Leicester Film Club alongside Showcase Cinema de Lux Leicester are thrilled to invite fans of Moulin Rouge! to experience the vibrant movie the way it was meant to be seen — in a large cinema surrounded by fellow fans
Genesis is an upcoming sci-fi horror from Midlands filmmakers Lunar Gold Productions and billed as a blend of Alien meets Stranger Things.
The Midlands has incredible filmmaking talent but finding each other has often been the hard part. But Middling Connect, which launched earlier this year, hopes to try and change that with its new dedicated crew database built for the Midlands, by the Midlands.
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and so, given his Midlands connections, how many of the huge number of film adaptations have been shot (or connected) to his hometown and local area? We endeavour to find out...
LATEST MIDLANDS REVIEWS
Lacuna is a new short film from Midlands director Sophie Black and explores the sensitive subject of sexual abuse and its many ramifications.
Director and actor Kay S. Ubhi takes us on a whirlwind journey through Birmingham’s dark side in this stark, gritty and gripping new British crime drama.
Showcasing a cast of local talent from the Nottingham Actor’s Workshop, new feature Surrender To It is a true Midlands production mixing horror and comedy as a group of friends take a trip to the countryside.
This 13-minute debut short from writer/director Joseph Ringland is a fully rounded, accomplished piece that skirts the boundaries of horror, drama and even some light comedy.
LATEST CINEMA & HOME RELEASES
As someone who has been a fan of indie horror games for over a decade, I was jumping for joy when I first saw the announcement that an indie horror game I really enjoyed was receiving a film adaptation
An ominous (ironic?) disclaimer about not taking fiction as fact opens this story about the oppressive Russian regime and one which covers the rise of President Putin through the eyes of fast-rising spin doctor Vadim Baranov (Paul Dano)
Samantha Cochran (V/H/S/Halloween) stars as Ally, a young woman whose mysterious illness is only superseded by her mysterious adoptive parents and their disturbing intentions in new thriller flick The Cure.
The Sun is dying. Earth comes up with one last ditch effort to save it. Send astronauts into the deepest parts of space, to study and understand why the stars are going out. But when Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up from his induced coma, things have gone wrong.
Watch the trailer for BFI-backed Midlands short CHOKEHOLD
"In a desperate attempt to escape his troubled home life, a young teenage boy runs away to seek out his estranged father, a once-famed professional wrestler".
Written and directed by Christopher Bevan and produced by Catriona Kelly of camakel productions in association with YSP Media, Chokehold was selected for funding by BFI NETWORK as part of the 2024 open call. With an upcoming 2026 release, the film stars Eddie Coates, Philip Bedwell, Lis Hipkiss, Mike ‘Wild Boar’ Hitchman, Ross Marshall, Jo Barker and Carl Bryan.
Find out more about the film, the cast and crew and the production at www.yspmedia.co.uk/chokehold
