Staffordshire Filmmaker: celebrating film made in the county

The festival shows work from all over the world. It also has an award that can only be won by people from here.

Why a local category

A festival that only looks outward stops belonging to the place it is in. The Staffordshire Filmmaker award exists so that the county has a way into its own festival, and so that filmmakers working here are seen next to international work rather than in a separate room.

Staffordshire makes films

People here are shooting documentaries, shorts, music videos and animation, often with very little, often around other jobs. Much of it never finds an audience beyond the people who made it. That is the gap this award is meant to close.

2025

The 2025 award went to 7 Times 7 Times 7 by Anderson West. The nominations are listed in full on the 2025 winners page.

2026 and the county

The 2026 UK screening is at the Mitchell Arts Centre in Stoke-on-Trent, which is part of Staffordshire. The booking at the Mitchell Arts Centre is confirmed. Moving beyond Stafford town is deliberate: the festival is becoming a county wide one.

If you make films in Staffordshire, this category is aimed squarely at you.