Lola Maguire reviews eight animation shorts at MANIFF 2016

Eight animation shorts made their UK premiere at the 2016 Manchester Film Festival followed by a special Q&A with several of the filmmakers.

Yuting Hsueh’s CGI animation opens to several inanimate test dummies suspended in the seated position, one of whom is a different colour to the other...

Stef Dawson as Annalee and Penn Badgley as Sigurd in THE PAPER STORE. Photo: Richard Sands © 2015

Dark, witty and intelligent, THE PAPER STORE is the ultimate tale of romance and revenge set in academia

Truth and lies take on a new dimension in THE PAPER STORE, a dark academic comedy about a former college student who forges essays for cash.

Based on the acclaimed play 516 (five-sixteen) by Katharine Clark Gray, THE PAPER STORE tells the story of Annalee, an academic ghost writer who works in t...

Hard-hitting, moving and inspiring, BROKE is an intimate tale of redemption, compassion and forgiveness

The topical issue of gambling in the NRL world is thrown into the limelight in Heath Davis’ new debut feature film BROKE, a story of a disgraced sports star and gambling addict who attempts to turn his life around with the support of his number one fan.

The story begins when ageing rail worker Cec, finds his former footy hero turned gambling addict, Ben “BK” Kelly, passed out one evening...

Tim Hahne brings Alex Zanardi’s inspirational true story to the big screen with NO LIMITS: IMPOSSIBLE IS JUST A WORD

When Alex Zanardi lost both of his legs in an almost fatal crash at the Lausitzring in Germany in 2001, many believed his open-wheel racing career was over. Less than two years later, the Italian racing driver was back behind the wheel competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship...

Dark, touching and ambitious, MEMORIES ON STONE is a touching and endearing film about Kurdistan’s inescapable past

Following a successful run at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and the Munich International Film Festival, Shawkat Amin Korki’s award-winning film MEMORIES ON STONE makes its UK premiere at the 2016 Manchester Film Festival.

Written and directed by Shawkat Amin Korki, MEMORIES ON STONE tells the story of childhood friends Hussein and Alan who decide to decide to produce a film about...

Gripping, tragic and beautifully shot, DESPITE THE FALLING SNOW is a love story set amid the Soviet dictatorship

Writer and director Shamim Sarif brings her bestselling novel DESPITE THE FALLING SNOW to the big screen with an all-star cast including Rebecca Ferguson, Charles Dance, Sam Reid and Anthony Head.

Set in 1950s Soviet Moscow, DESPITE THE FALLING SNOW tells the story of Katya, a beautiful young spy for America who falls in love with an idealistic Communist politician named Alexander...

Joseph Caley as Romeo and Momoko Hirata as Juliet in BRB’s ROMEO & JULIET. Image Credit: Andrew Ross

Passionate, emotional and breathtaking, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s adaptation of ROMEO AND JULIET is simply spectacular

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s 2016 Shakespeare season looks amazing. The world-class ballet company is performing seven ballets at 10 venues across the UK as part of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death...

Matt Barber and Pixie Lott in rehearsals for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Image Credit: Sean Ebsworth Barnes

Rehearsals have started for the UK tour of BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S which stars Pixie Lott in the iconic role as Holly Golightly.

Based on the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, the romantic comedy tells the story of a young New York socialite who becomes interested in a young, penniless writer who has moved into her apartment building...

5 years after his last tour, comedian Paddy McGuinness makes his long-awaited return to the stage with his latest stand-up tour Daddy McGuinness.

The 42-year old comedian from Farnworth in Lancashire, first rose to fame in 2000 after appearing on Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere. He is best known as the TV host of ITV’s dating game show Take Me Out and Channel 4’s Benchmark and has numerous sell out tours and best-selling DVDs under his belt.

McGuinness’ ...

Actor Jos Vantyler. Image Credit: Rosalind Hobley

Actor Jos Vantyler discusses Shakespeare and his role in THE MERRY WIVES

Jos Vantyler certainly knows his Shakespeare. In the past 10 years, the award-winning actor has performed in a number of Shakespeare plays including ROMEO AND JULIET (2006), LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST (2012) and KING LEAR (2013), both here in the UK as well as in America.

This month, Vantyler returns to the stage in Northern Broadsides production of THE MERRY WIVES...