North West Shorts 1

A collection of short films from the North West.

By My Side

Jake Metcalf / United Kingdom

World Premiere

We follow a young boy as he struggles with loneliness and anxiety at the hands of his parent's divorce. Seemingly alone, the young boy soon seems to notice strange personalities in his right-hand. An unlikely friendship blossoms between the boy and his limb, much to the distaste of his mother...

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Crushed

Charlene Jones / United Kingdom

Crushed is a comedy short about a woman plucking up the courage to tell her work crush that she fancies him...but it doesn't exactly go to plan.

Firefly

Anne-Marie Scragg / United Kingdom

A young girl who is deaf, living in a rural fishing village with her widower Dad and Grandad, sees her life turned upside down when she is left with an increasingly abusive stepmother. A story of resilience against adversity.

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The Liver

Daniel Brereton / United Kingdom

A Gothic fairy-tale set in a contemporary folk-world of collapsing social care system. In Bert we meet an anti-hero, a compassionate but prosaic old man, who when left in the absurdity of endless life and brutal economics, becomes Lucifer, a bringer of death.

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The Sun is Up Forever

Charlene Jones / United Kingdom

On a hot summer's day, a young daughter seeks to soak up the sun but finds her thoughts are preoccupied with her mother at home.

Red Sky at Night

Kieran Stringfellow / United Kingdom

World Premiere

Val is a century old vampire, but in human terms, she can barely pass for twenty. After what feels like an eternity spent at her family home in the northern reaches of the UK, she’s now ready to embark on a new chapter at university.

Chicken Girl

Em Humble / United Kingdom

After having an aneurysm at a Jack and the Beanstalk panto in 2006, Chicken Girl can’t get golden eggs off her brain. With the assistance of her “better half”, Gary, Chicken Girl is loving her chickens to death. Inspired by Grey Gardens, This Country, and What We Do in the Shadows, this “college documentary” follows a deranged couple on their journey to gold.

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Gobstopper
Jo Lane / United Kingdom
World Premiere
Ash (15) is a formidable yet thoughtful soul who feels the weight of her family’s future on her shoulders. Ash lives with her ‘half-sister’ Charlie (9, curious, confident, cheeky) and their mum Trish (Late 30’s, loving, compulsive, unstable). Trish has a problematic relationship with alcohol, which has resulted in patterns of absence from the home, and a history of police involvement for ‘anti-social’ behaviour. Trish’s most recent endeavours have resulted in an electronic tag, restricting her from certain places. Regardless of society's judgments and despite the losses it creates in their own lives, Ash & Charlie, both remain loyal and supportive of their mother.

Please note: this is a mixed collection of shorts and may contain themes and scenes that some viewers find upsetting.