Lincoln filmmakers head to Italy for Franz
midlandsmovies • January 21, 2021
Midlands Spotlight: University of Lincoln graduates head to Italy
Josh Brown is the writer-director of new film FRANZ which follows a mentally fragile writer staying at a friend’s apartment.
With the writer taking a break to undertake his first novel, he witnesses what he believes to be a murder. But with his mental state and heavy drinking, can he be sure of what he saw?
And so goes the synopsis of this new short drama which has been produced by the filmmaker as part of the Cici Film Festival.
The filmmakers are all University of Lincoln graduates and took their skills from the Midlands to shoot the short entirely on location in Castellemare del Golfo in Sicily.
And although filmed a few years ago, the director had planned to submit his drama to festivals before releasing it online.
But with the advent of the Covid pandemic, Joshua goes on to explain, “With everything being so up-in-the-air, we're flipping it! We're releasing it online for now, with the hope of a festival run later in the year”.
And the director is hoping an appreciative audience can contribute to its ongoing success.
“Please consider paying as-you-feel for seeing it. All this does is allow us to enter the film into more festivals around the world”. He then adds, “a small band of extremely talented people worked on this, which I'm massively grateful for”.
Franz follows its troubled author protagonist as he leaves rehab to retreat to his friend Pino's luxurious apartment to write a novel, but the director explains that the “peaceful retreat soon turns into a fever dream of drugs, fantasy and paranoia”.
Josh Brown is a director and videographer and an international filmmaker in both fiction and documentary. And spreading wings from the region, Josh has made films in Rome, Vietnam, Sicily & China and last year he produced a short film for the BBC, which he wrote & directed.
He describes Franz as “an exploration of the boundary between fantasy & reality and what happens when the line between the two start to blur. I wanted to make a paranoid, cinematic, location-driven film, which I hope we achieved”.
Watch the film below and support the filmmakers by donating to the film’s festival ambitions via this link: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8wbwHIbj6E
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 & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Pete Key, Jai Blanks and 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...)
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