Midlands Spotlight - New online show focuses on Midlands filmmakers

midlandsmovies • November 26, 2019

Midlands Spotlight - New online show focuses on Midlands filmmakersMidlands filmmakers will find themselves in front of the camera when local telly legends Des Tong and Gary James launch their new online show Birmingham Now on Monday 25th November.Birmingham Now is a new monthly YouTube series will feature interviews with personalities from the world of movies, music, theatre and art, as well as profiles of business and sports figures.Des Tong is a Birmingham-based musician, presenter and video director, best known for his work with Sad Cafe and singer Cissy Stone. Gary James is a Birmingham-based sports journalist, presenter and branding consultant with wide experience in corporate entertainment. And Steve Green and Chrissie Harper run Solihull-based Vamporama Films, producing news packages for regional television and documentary material for a variety of online and media platforms.In the first edition, co-producer Steve Green will be talking to actor Alan Birch and writer Al Smith about their collaborations on film and stage, as well as the first Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival.Running in Kinver in January 2020, the Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival includes judges include Adam Nevill, whose novel The Ritual was adapted for the screen in 2017. There's also the first of Des Tong's "featured artist" profiles in which he chats with Wolverhampton-born singer-songwriter Rebecca Downes.The show is a co-production between Des & Gary and Solihull-based Vamporama Films. Previews and free subscriptions are available now via the show’s website http://brum-now.ukYouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIjVpJqCyNK_BymjT-fnTdQ Festival link: https://www.weepingbankproductions.co.uk

Midlands Spotlight - New online show focuses on Midlands filmmakers

Midlands filmmakers will find themselves in front of the camera when local telly legends Des Tong and Gary James launch their new online show Birmingham Now on Monday 25th November.

Birmingham Now is a new monthly YouTube series will feature interviews with personalities from the world of movies, music, theatre and art, as well as profiles of business and sports figures.

Des Tong is a Birmingham-based musician, presenter and video director, best known for his work with Sad Cafe and singer Cissy Stone. Gary James is a Birmingham-based sports journalist, presenter and branding consultant with wide experience in corporate entertainment.

And Steve Green and Chrissie Harper run Solihull-based Vamporama Films, producing news packages for regional television and documentary material for a variety of online and media platforms.

In the first edition, co-producer Steve Green will be talking to actor Alan Birch and writer Al Smith about their collaborations on film and stage, as well as the first Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival.

Running in Kinver in January 2020, the Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival includes judges include Adam Nevill, whose novel The Ritual was adapted for the screen in 2017.

There's also the first of Des Tong's "featured artist" profiles in which he chats with Wolverhampton-born singer-songwriter Rebecca Downes.

The show is a co-production between Des & Gary and Solihull-based Vamporama Films.

Previews and free subscriptions are available now via the show’s website http://brum-now.uk

Midlands Review of Royston Vale Road

By midlandsmovies • December 2, 2025
Developed as part of the anthology, Serial, Royston Vale Road is a slight, comedy-heavy, found footage short directed by Chris Annable, co-owner of the Straight to Video movie memorabilia and tape store in Alfreton.

Midlands Review of Dead on Distribution

By midlandsmovies • November 29, 2025
Dead on Distribution tries to tackle a lot in its brief 17-minute runtime. Taking place just as the VHS market was starting to boom, flooding shelves with low budget horrors, the film satirises the prevailing thoughts of the time.

Midlands Movies finds footage down at Derby Quad for POV

By midlandsmovies • November 26, 2025
Continuing the cinema’s excellent reputation for themed events – such as Paracinema and the folk horror day Darkness in the Fields – the Derby Quad put together a programme of local and international found footage films.

Midlands Review of Exhibit B

By midlandsmovies • November 24, 2025
Kicking off Derby Quad’s POV: The Found Footage Project was a short film from David Gregory, who’s directed a variety of projects including music videos for the metal band Svalbard.
Show More