29/03/2026
🌟Regional Shorts Winner and Special Mention🌟
We are happy to annouce that both the jury award and the audience award at this years regional shorts competiton was 'The Long Away Game' by
The jury this year was made up of Jordan Hogg BAFTA winning director of Ralph & Katie, Screw, Ackley Bridge, Death in Paradise, Film Programmer Alice Miller and youth member Harris Atkinson
The jury said: We found The Long Away Game to be a deeply impactful film, tackling subject matter that feels both timely and urgent. Artistically accomplished, it had a strong and compelling arc. At its heart is a moving celebration community, and the power of football to bring people together. We were especially moved by Sabriah’s experiences, which are handled with great sensitivity. A film with immense heart, care, and compassion.
🎉A huge congrats to Hannah and the rest of the film team and especially star of the film Sabriah who we were lucky to be joined by at the screening. 🎉
🌟Special mention🌟
The jury awarded the special mention to Rescue Plan from Stuart White.
The jury said: We were impressed by its innovative, non-linear narrative, and thought it achieved a great deal on a modest budget. It’s a striking visualisation of miscommunication, brought to life through incredibly strong performances. With confident production values, it culminates in a memorable final shot that reveals the film’s genre.
We also just wanted to say a huge thankyou to all the short filmmakers and teams, it is always wpnderful each year to see such talent in our region and play a part in celebrating it on the big screen🪄
The festival is presented in association with and kindly funded by
