
120 minutes
18+
Join us for a celebration of British filmmaking at the opening night of Nottingham Film Festival 2026.
The opening short film session features films from the most exciting up and coming voices on the UK film scene, with each project produced by homegrown talent.
The 9 films vary from a wartime masterpiece celebrating the unsung heroes of Bletchley park, to a ruthless underground winner takes all sport, and even a comedy short following two highly-inept criminals as they hide a body.
Several of the films will be screened in the midlands for the very first time. The session will be preceded by a drinks reception upstairs in the Savoy from 18:30, after the short films there will be a Q&A (Filmmakers yet to be confirmed).

Driven by desperation and under the thumb of a ruthless authority figure, an underdog goes to absurd lengths to earn the approval of a community of posturing tough guys and participate in the ultimate high-stakes test.
A mother battles the family court system to save herself and her son from his abusive father.
Created and choreographed by Kevin Edward Turner MBE, Strange Fruit draws focus to the brutal and dehumanising act of lynching and the historical struggle that people of colour have endured.
Two inept criminals, Cammy and Coops, are tasked with burying their first body in the woods but find themselves at loggerheads when they realise that they’ve only brought one spade.
Beneath Heaven’s Surface is a short documentary exploring a family-run dive school on the island of Koh Tao. A school born out of love, friendship and passion, the documentary uncovers how it all began while highlighting each individual’s connection to diving and the ocean. Through their commitment to scuba diving and marine conservation, the film explores a deeper philosophy of island life, happiness and love.
A young man has been tasked with watching over his girlfriend’s family home on the day of her older sister’s wedding. He must protect the customary Indian wedding gifts of gold that lie within, though never predicted who he would have to guard against...
A woman's search for connection finds her in a less than ideal dynamic.
1974. A Smoke filled Sports Bar. Love is like a game of pool. “Magic 8” is a 3 minute short film shot on Super 8, which explores what happens when making a queer connection in a stereotypically “Straight” space.
At the secretive Bletchley Park during the Second World War, an intelligence analyst feels the weight of the world on her shoulders as she's forced to confront the cost of war and the barriers set before her. Inspired by the true story of the writer/director's grandmother.
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