Midlands Spotlight - New online show focuses on Midlands filmmakers

midlandsmovies • November 26, 2019

Midlands Spotlight - New online show focuses on Midlands filmmakersMidlands filmmakers will find themselves in front of the camera when local telly legends Des Tong and Gary James launch their new online show Birmingham Now on Monday 25th November.Birmingham Now is a new monthly YouTube series will feature interviews with personalities from the world of movies, music, theatre and art, as well as profiles of business and sports figures.Des Tong is a Birmingham-based musician, presenter and video director, best known for his work with Sad Cafe and singer Cissy Stone. Gary James is a Birmingham-based sports journalist, presenter and branding consultant with wide experience in corporate entertainment. And Steve Green and Chrissie Harper run Solihull-based Vamporama Films, producing news packages for regional television and documentary material for a variety of online and media platforms.In the first edition, co-producer Steve Green will be talking to actor Alan Birch and writer Al Smith about their collaborations on film and stage, as well as the first Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival.Running in Kinver in January 2020, the Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival includes judges include Adam Nevill, whose novel The Ritual was adapted for the screen in 2017. There's also the first of Des Tong's "featured artist" profiles in which he chats with Wolverhampton-born singer-songwriter Rebecca Downes.The show is a co-production between Des & Gary and Solihull-based Vamporama Films. Previews and free subscriptions are available now via the show’s website http://brum-now.ukYouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIjVpJqCyNK_BymjT-fnTdQ Festival link: https://www.weepingbankproductions.co.uk

Midlands Spotlight - New online show focuses on Midlands filmmakers

Midlands filmmakers will find themselves in front of the camera when local telly legends Des Tong and Gary James launch their new online show Birmingham Now on Monday 25th November.

Birmingham Now is a new monthly YouTube series will feature interviews with personalities from the world of movies, music, theatre and art, as well as profiles of business and sports figures.

Des Tong is a Birmingham-based musician, presenter and video director, best known for his work with Sad Cafe and singer Cissy Stone. Gary James is a Birmingham-based sports journalist, presenter and branding consultant with wide experience in corporate entertainment.

And Steve Green and Chrissie Harper run Solihull-based Vamporama Films, producing news packages for regional television and documentary material for a variety of online and media platforms.

In the first edition, co-producer Steve Green will be talking to actor Alan Birch and writer Al Smith about their collaborations on film and stage, as well as the first Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival.

Running in Kinver in January 2020, the Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival includes judges include Adam Nevill, whose novel The Ritual was adapted for the screen in 2017.

There's also the first of Des Tong's "featured artist" profiles in which he chats with Wolverhampton-born singer-songwriter Rebecca Downes.

The show is a co-production between Des & Gary and Solihull-based Vamporama Films.

Previews and free subscriptions are available now via the show’s website http://brum-now.uk

By midlandsmovies • October 5, 2026
The Case Next Door is a new short film from student filmmaker James Rowland who explores the noir detective genre through our very own streets of Coventry.
By midlandsmovies • October 1, 2026
This adaptation of David Gilbert’s novel marks the first English-language film from Argentine director Pablo Trapero, working from a script by Sarah Polley
By midlandsmovies • September 30, 2026
O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Dave Franco star in this new crime farce from writer-director Macon Blair, which sees a couple of inexperienced life losers attempt to make some bank escorting a young man to rehab.
By midlandsmovies • September 28, 2026
After the excellent sci-fi The Programme and horror satire The Pause, Midlands director Sam Grierson returns to the local indie movie scene by dipping a toe into another film genre with emotional drama How To Daughter.
Show More