Nottingham on Screen: The Filmmakers Giving the City Its Voice
We like to think Nottingham punches well above its weight when it comes to culture, and filmmaking is a big part of that. This guide to filmmakers in Nottingham looks at the people, born here, based here, or who simply chose to make their work here, alongside the creative infrastructure behind them.
It's not just talent either. Nottingham has a genuine industry backbone, from youth film schemes to national bodies like the BFI, which recently confirmed fresh funding for the region's film culture through to 2029. Here's a closer look at the people and groups shaping Nottingham's film scene.
Young Film Makers Nottingham
The Young Film Makers was established in Nottingham in 2005 in order to provide 8 to 16 year olds with the opportunity to learn all about the enjoyment of film making. They run Saturday schools and summer schools which allow the children to explore their creativity both behind and in front of the camera through performances, camera work and directing. Young Film Makers Nottingham is a fantastic way to encourage future directors and to provide them with a solid foundation of the fundamentals to film making which will allow them to succeed in the future.
Jeanie Finlay
Jeanie Finlay is one of Britain's most distinctive documentary makers, known for intimate, award-winning films made for cinema and television. Her credits include the Emmy-nominated Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, the BIFA-nominated Seahorse, and the BIFA-winning Orion: The Man Who Would Be King. Her films were also showcased in a 2020 retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, curated by Eric Hynes and titled People Everyday: The Films of Jeanie Finlay.
Jeanie studied art at Cleveland College of Art and Design, then Contemporary Arts at Nottingham Trent University. She had her first film commissioned six months pregnant, and remains a vocal supporter of Raising Films, which advocates for parents working in the media industry. She regularly writes about film for The Talkhouse and was a director of Broadway, Nottingham's flagship cinema and media centre, for many years.
She set up Glimmer Films in 2008 to develop ambitious documentary work for an international audience, celebrating untold, intimate stories through what she calls "wraparound filmmaking." Her career hasn't slowed since. Your Fat Friend premiered at Tribeca in 2023, and in 2026 she premiered her tenth feature, All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, at CPH:DOX, nominated for the F:ACT Award. She's also received a Chicken & Egg Award and an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University.
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is the director, screenwriter and actor Nottingham has firmly claimed as its own, even though he wasn't born here. His films reflect the social life of the Midlands, mixed with surreal situations and quirky characters, and include Dead Man's Shoes (2004), This Is England (2006) and TwentyFourSeven (1997). Meadows didn't become successful overnight. He worked his way up through a large collection of short films, which is how he developed the style and eye for casting untrained local talent that define his work.
After a 17-year break from feature film, Meadows has just wrapped Chork, written alongside Adolescence writer Jack Thorne and backed by BBC Film and the BFI. It follows two children fleeing a foster home along the English coastline, and is set for UK cinemas in 2026, a genuinely exciting return for one of Nottingham's most influential filmmakers.
Chris Cooke
Chris Cooke, well known for directing the cult comedy One for the Road, is another filmmaker woven into Nottingham's film community. He got into filmmaking through an unemployment scheme training people in film and video, which led him to make short films such as Map of the Scars, set in his hometown of Jersey. Chris headed up his own production company based at Broadway Cinema, and the success of One for the Road gave him the platform to develop further feature film work.
Cooke stayed true to his low-budget, digital roots, a format that suited both his style and his budget. In a 2004 interview with LeftLion, he said Nottingham's filmmaking community was what kept him going through five tough years of unemployment, helping out with filming and lighting on other local productions along the way. He's also a co-founder of Nottingham's Mayhem Film Festival, and One for the Road got a full Blu-ray reissue in 2022, complete with an oral history documentary revisiting the film.
As Jack Delaney, founder of Simply Thrilled, puts it: "Some of the best stories I've seen on screen came from people with no budget and a lot of stubbornness. That's very Nottingham. You make do with what you've got, and you make it good.
Jayne Slater
Jayne Slater came to the filmmaking scene after graduating from the University of Derby with a BA (Hons) in Film Production. Now based near Nottingham and Sheffield, Jayne is a producer-director who also writes her own films and has a strong passion for storytelling. She's worked on productions including Darkest Hour (Joe Wright, 2017) and The Worst Witch (CBBC, 2018), and has directed and produced music videos and short films with success at festivals worldwide.
Dee Hackett
Dee Hackett is a writer and director based in Nottingham who set out to start a collaborative for aspiring filmmakers across the East Midlands. In 2019, he wrote and directed the short drama Natural, in which a woman called Kate agrees to meet an apparent good Samaritan in a hotel room and quickly learns what realising that dream might cost. The drama was released on 23rd August 2019 and was filmed in Nottingham.
BFI Film Hub Midlands
BFI Film Hub Midlands is a partnership between Broadway, Nottingham, and Flatpack Projects in Birmingham, acting as a driving force behind film culture across the Midlands. Funded through the National Lottery-backed BFI Film Audience Network, the partnership provides funding and training that helps more people watch, show and make films, and its work has just been renewed with fresh funding through to 2029.
Nottingham Moviemakers
Nottingham has a long history of grassroots film clubs, and Nottingham Moviemakers is one of the community groups that grew out of that culture. The club produced short films over the years, many of which are now archived and available to watch on YouTube, a small but valuable record of the city's amateur filmmaking history.
University of Nottingham Film Making Society
The University of Nottingham Film Making Society provides an informal environment for students to build their filmmaking skills, from writing and developing scripts to editing and cinematography. Members meet on Monday evenings and take part in two-week projects, a bi-annual "24 Hour Challenge," and larger "Big Picture" productions.
The society also works beyond the university, taking on client and community projects, including filming Crisis at Rock City, the biggest student night out in Nottingham, alongside involvement in the city's local film festival in Beeston.
Bringing It All Together
Nottingham's film scene isn't built around one big studio or one famous export. It's a mix of documentary makers with international reach, a feature director making a rare comeback, community film clubs, university societies and national bodies, all pulling the same way.
If you're bringing a project to life in Nottingham, or want help choosing the right video production company, get in touch. We're proud to be part of this city's creative story too.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Nottingham a good place to study filmmaking?
Yes. Nottingham Trent University has strong ties to documentary makers like Jeanie Finlay, and the University of Nottingham Film Making Society gives students hands-on experience outside the classroom.
2. What films have been shot in Nottingham?
Wollaton Hall famously stood in as Wayne Manor for The Dark Knight Rises, and the wider county's ties to Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood have long drawn period filming.
3. Who is the most famous filmmaker from Nottingham?
Shane Meadows is arguably the city's most recognised filmmaker, known for This Is England and Dead Man's Shoes. Documentary maker Jeanie Finlay has also built an international reputation.
4. How can I get involved in Nottingham's filmmaking community as a beginner?
University societies, Young Film Makers' Saturday and summer schools, and community groups all offer entry points, and many established names started out the same way.
5. Does Nottingham have its own film festival?
Yes. Mayhem Film Festival, co-founded by director Chris Cooke, is one of the city's best-known genre events, alongside smaller community festivals such as the one in Beeston.
