New Comedy Nights to Raise Film Funding

midlandsmovies • April 12, 2025

Both The Mockingbird Cinema and the Midlands Art Centre (MAC) in Birmingham are set to put on a series of live comedy nights, organised by Gobby Girl Productions.


Founded by writer, director and producer Gina Lyons, Gobby Girl Productions provides funding for creatives, especially in the comedy field, which has been recognised as a genre in decline.


The Gobby Flicks Comedy nights will include opportunities for local creatives to network, followed by live comedy sets and a screening of a short film. These films will star one of the comedians featured on the night, or will have been submitted to Gobby Girl Productions.


Money raised from the nights will go towards funding comedy shorts written and directed by women. This is to address the ongoing gender imbalance in the industry, with Diamond data showing that female directors represent just 33% of the industry. According to Gobby Girl Productions, in comedy this slides further to just 25%.

A trial night was held at the MAC in February, which concluded with the short Burger Van Man, which starred Nick Helm. Now Gobby Flicks Comedy has announced the line up (subject to change) for the next six events, which will run until the end of the year.


  • April - MAC - Kate Barron & Spencer Jones
  • May - Mockingbird - Nick Helm
  • July - Mockingbird - Lindsey Santoro & Josh Pugh
  • August - MAC - Laura Lexx
  • September - Mockingbird - Acts TBC
  • October - MAC - Acts TBC
  • November - Mockingbird - Iain Smith
  • December - MAC - Rosie Jones


The first short to be shown will be the Midlands production DOSED, directed by Nadine O’Mahony, written by Lily Portman, and starring Emily Dilworth and Georgia Neath.


Tickets are available for the April event from the MAC website

https://macbirmingham.co.uk/cinema/gobby-flicks-comedy


Matt Tilt

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tiltmatthew90/

By midlandsmovies June 4, 2025
The sound of a noisy hoover is the unlikely beginning of a new film from first-time filmmaker Nicholas Georghiou. A short about domestic help, the film explores a strange situation in a hotel room where all is not what it seems.
By midlandsmovies June 1, 2025
The inaugural Forward Film & Television Festival makes its debut and will be spotlighting bold new voices and positioning Birmingham as a major player in the screen industries.
By midlandsmovies June 1, 2025
Returning for its third and biggest year yet, the Mansfield Town Film Festival (MTFF) runs from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th July 2025 ay Mansfield Palace Theatre.
By midlandsmovies May 26, 2025
Naphat Boonyaprapa previously directed the excellent – if niche – documentary Red Black Green about local table tennis star Connor Green. Now, turning his attention to fiction, his latest short is a tender examination of loneliness and friendship.
Show More