Midlands filmmakers screen at the 2026 Worcester Film Festival
The Worcester Film Festival is now an established event amongst the Midlands festival scene and with a programme ranging from independent shorts to full-length features, it aims to showcase the best films to audiences, critics and industry professionals.
Offering a diverse range of stories, the officially selected films go to a jury to be shortlisted for nominations, with awards handed to winners at the culmination of the festival. There’s a lot in store too this year! 3 screens at Odeon will showcase features and shorts alongside slots for workshops, a pitch event with cash prize, networking socials, Q&As, podcasts, special presentations and much more.
So, of course – and it was long overdue – we had to head down to see what 2026’s fest had in store. Getting to Worcester via Birmingham is easy for Midlanders to travel to and from and even on the opening night, we got a taste of what brings together independent filmmakers from all over the UK to this area of the Midlands.
Launching with Simon Ryninks' debut feature film, Out There - a feel-good comedy-drama about coming to terms with loss – this was just one of a total of 260 films to be shown across this year’s 8 venues. After an enjoyable welcome reception on Tuesday, there are so many short film selections being shown in blocks each day. And many of these are both from the Midlands and a few Midlands Movies Awards nominees and a handful of winners as well.
With that in mind, we recommend a few of the best local films to check out during the next few days. In addition, the festival is also BIFA-Qualifying meaning films screened are eligible for consideration in BIFA’s prestigious British Short Film Awards. And the team behind the festival couldn’t be prouder to represent the West Midlands as the only BIFA-recognised festival in the region - giving another great opportunity for up and coming filmmakers to share their work and get it recognised.
Click here to find the full Worcester Film Festival programme and line-up
Although there are many more, a few special mentions from us include screenings of the followiong local films:
SOUL TRADER (Midlands Movies Awards Best Short Winner 2026)
Wed, Sep 23rd, 11:15 AM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 5 (WA)
MEET CUTE (the new film from Midlands Movies Awards nominee Nadine O’Mahony)
Wed, Sep 23rd, 2:00 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 5 (WA)
SURFING Midlands Movies Awards nominee Best Actor & Best cinematography)
Wed, Sep 23rd, 6:00 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 5 (WA)
LACUNA (the new film from Midlands Movies Awards winner Sophie Black)
Thu, Sep 24th, 11:15 AM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 5 (WA)
HOMEBIRD (Midlands Movies Awards Best Actor Nominee 2026)
Thu, Sep 24th, 2:00 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 7 (WA)
QUIET (Midlands Movies Awards Best Short Winner 2026)
Thu, Sep 24th, 2:15 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 5 (WA)
CHOKEHOLD (the new film from Midlands Movies Awards winner Chris Bevan)
Thu, Sep 24th, 3:15 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 7 (WA)
DANIEL’S ROOM (Midlands Movies Awards Best Cinematography 2026)
Thu, Sep 24th, 4:45 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 5 (WA)
SORRY WE’RE CLOSED (Midlands Movies Awards Best Director 2026)
Fri, Sep 25th, 4:30 PM @ ODEON Worcester Screen 7 (WA)
For full information check out www.worcesterfilmfestival.co.uk
