The films are a mix of styles and genres, including animation, live action, drama, sci-fi and comedy. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers led by Dan Lawson, New Talent Manager at Screen West Midlands. This is an opportunity to hear from the filmmakers themselves and to find how you can get involved in this year's Digital Shorts film funding scheme. Followed by drinks and networking in Lock Works café bar.

Three of the Digital Shorts were produced by Black Country filmmakers with connections to Light House Media Centre. ‘Phizog’, a darkly comic animated tale about what happens when you pull a face and the wind changes, is by talented animator Neil Webber from Shropshire , and produced by Light House. PLOT beneficiary, Birmingham-based filmmaker Deborah Aston, produced the ‘Ungone’, an ambitious sci-fi short about global travel by Worcestershire filmmaker Simon Bovey. ‘The Visit’ is an uncompromising and thought-provoking drama by Wolverhampton filmmaker and ex-Light House trainee Matt Cope, a tale of a plumber, a priest, a man with a Dictaphone and a suitcase with a child’s remains. ‘The Visit’ was produced by Paul Fogg, another ex-Light House trainee.

Urmala Jassal, Production Co-ordinator at Light House, said, ‘Digital Shorts provided an opportunity for regional filmmakers to produce high quality, stylish, confrontational and touching films. It’s a real coup for Light House to be hosting the public premiere and we would invite any budding filmmakers to attend this event to view a fine selection of films and find out about opportunities for filmmaking in the region’.

The aim of the Screen Forum is to showcase work from the region and to facilitate networking, collaboration and the sharing of information and resources. Screen Forum is interested in hearing from practitioners who would like to showcase work and/or programme a meeting.

Venue: Light House Media Centre, The Chubb Buildings,

Digital Shorts 2005: About the Films

Africanbrummie

A heartfelt documentary from Birmingham director David King. An honest look at his own experiences growing up in Birmingham with an African father and English mother. A touching film that nonetheless never loses its sense of humour.

Auto De Fe

What happens when two Brummies get lost in the French countryside on the trail of mysterious ancient rock paintings apparently depicting spaceships abducting the locals? Birmingham filmmaker Steve Rainbow sets out to tell us in this stylishly comic romp, featuring top acting talents Simon Lowe and Dominic Coleman.

Kraft

With just one night left before his beloved puppet workshop is reclaimed by the building’s new owner, Mr Kraft seeks to lay to rest the demons from his past. But will the owner understand his reluctance to give up his life's work? A touching and dark tale from Birmingham filmmaker and photographer Scott Johnston.

Phizog

Everyone knows what happens when you pull a face and the wind changes - except for young Phizog. He soon discovers the consequences though when a magical weather vane intervenes with his face-pulling pranks. A darkly comic animated tale from Shropshire animator Neil Webber, produced by Light House.

Room 45

A simple set-up: assassinate the apartment owner, stage it to look like suicide, get out, job done. Not so simple - as one body leads to another and another - the corpses keep piling up for our fateful hero in this stylish take on the heist-gone-wrong setup from Coventry filmmaking team Vince Lund and Matthew Cooke.

The Ungone

In the future, global travel will be as simple as stepping onto the Threshold in one time zone, and arriving seconds later in another. But what happens when the Threshold duplicates you instead of transporting you? Can two selves co-exist? This ambitious sci-fi short from Worcestershire filmmaker Simon Bovey may hold the answers.

The Visit

A plumber, a priest, a man with a dictaphone and a suitcase with a child's remains...tenuous family links are brought into sharp focus in Wolverhampton filmmaker Matt Cope's uncompromising and thought-provoking drama.