Richard Armitage Interviewed As Midlands Movies Awards Reveals 2025 Nominations

Regional organisation Midlands Movies has announced the nominations for its annual film awards across 16 categories with the participation of Richard Armitage, star of The Hobbit, Marvel’s Captain America & Netflix’s The Stranger.

The awards are a platform to honour the many amazing local films completed in the last 12 months, with nominations and winners chosen by an experienced jury made up of a diverse range of industry experts.

This year’s panel is headed up by star Richard Armitage who will decide the winner of the Best Short category. Midlands Movies founder & editor Mike Sales spoke to the Hollywood actor, who hails from the region, about his upbringing in Leicester, his career connections to the Midlands and his thoughts on independent filmmaking.

Richard joins key film representatives on the jury which includes Sophie Ivanova & Mellissa Donnello (Birmingham Film & TV Market), Jake Harvey (Phoenix Cinema), Nicola Prestage (BAFTA-nominated filmmaker), Jack Rafferty (BBC Leicester), Matt Tilt (film critic), Lateesha Johnson (BFI) & Mike Sales (Midlands Movies). Midlands Movies are also pleased to announce the prestigious ceremony will take place on Saturday 14^th June 2025 at The Y Theatre in Leicester. The night celebrates the best creative film talent in the region with red carpet photos, awards presentations, prizes, networking opportunities, drinks and more!

“Richard and the whole jury panel have enjoyed each and every submission and as always we’ve struggled to choose just the few who have been nominated given the full talent and diversity on display”, explains Mike Sales.

“The awards continue to be a special place for everyone, as filmmakers work on very limited resources yet still create first-class films across every genre. Richard’s links to the region and huge support for what we strive to achieve has been invaluable as well.”

“It’s helped shine a bigger spotlight onto our creative community, with the rest of the country now waking up and taking note of the unbelievably skilled and accomplished filmmakers that we have right here.”

Here’s the 2025 Midlands Movies Awards nominations in full:

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Sarah Feltham for Laura Living Backwards

Lucy Wells for A Glass House

Poppy Abbott for No Worries If Not

Rosie Frost for Run For Your Life

Suzanne Fulton for Derelict

Best Animated Film

Grave by Oz Durose

Yen for Zen by James Pyle

Creativity is for Everyone by Charlotte Footitt

Sick Day of the Dead by Lee Charlish

The Adventures of Ohee: Curse of the Warlock’s Eye by Matthew Mason

Best Director

Emma Hodgkinson for No Worries If Not!

James Mason for You Alright Mate

Ades Singh for She Loves Me Not

Jonathan Zaurin for Derelict

Christopher Bevan for The Other

Best Sound (Editing or Mixing)

Robin Wade for Overtime

Liam Banks for Run For Your Life

Chas Sheppard for No Worries If Not

Daniel Ferrari for The Calling

Josh King, Ayesha Walker and Luke Brightmore for Homunculus

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mark Aldrich for Teddy and the Mountain

Jamie Mutambirwa for At What Cost

Vishal Ratnajothy for Axe To Grind

Pete Bird for Derelict

Cameron Moon for The Yard

Best Visual & Special Effects

Steve Best & Liam Banks for Run For Your Life

Billy Evans for Ascend

Dimitris Vrouvas & their team for Living Dolls

Alessia Secci for Inhabitant

James Carpenter & Baz Kannan for Letters from Space

Best Cinematography

Billy Evans for Ascend

Richard Bailey for Everything

Jack Curtis for A Glass House

Connor Mcloughlin for Persistence

Lewis Malin for No Longer Human

Best Costume & Makeup & Hairstyling

Carolina Rodrigues and Aspasia Vrouva for Living Dolls

Sarah Wynne-Kordas for Run For Your Life

Abbie May Wilson, Jacob Thomas McClean & Amelia Helen McClean for Whilstling Dixie

Miriam Bibi for Last December

Luke Worrall and his team for Distill Bill

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Adam Hovarth for The Other

Michael Coombes for Derelict

Andrew Simpson for Operation War Thunder

Connor Rembrandt Pollet for No Longer Human

Gary Beadle for A Glass House

Best Editing

Christina Hill for You Alright Mate

Luke Worrall for Distill Bill

Charles Leggat, Jack Davies, Kick Orin & Lisa Bustillos-Kovac for Meta Mum

Elodie Bonnick for No Worries If Not

Liam Banks for Run For Your Life

Best Music (Score or song)

Tony J Brown & Roger David Francis for Advent

Sadé Nicole Davis & the team for Love Is…

Tammy King for her song Secret from Remote Witness

Thomas Pearce for Suspect

Ben Casey for Living Dolls

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Isabel Darby for At What Cost

Karina Holness for Love Is…?

Charlotte Claypole for Teddy and The Mountain

Dani Tonks for The Other

Della Thielamay for Couple Goals

Best Feature

Teddy and The Mountain by Stanley Roubaix

Operation War Thunder by James Peakman

Derelict by Jonathan Zaurin

Love Is…? Sadé Nicole Davis

Best Documentary

The Secret to Sustainability by Ella Breanna Sugden and Saphir Beaunol

I Just want to be a Superhero by Joey Lever

Best Writing (Original or adapted screenplay)

Samantha Grierson for The Programme

George S. Evans for Meeting Point

Charles Strider for A Glass House

William Kowanec for War Paint

Kitty Harper for Non Fiction

Best Short Film

(winner will be chosen by VIP jury panel member RICHARD ARMITAGE)

The Other by Christopher Bevan

Everything by Dave Alexander Smith and Richard Bailey

Laura Living Backwards by Kate Horlor

Fortune Tell Her by Robert George Lane

No Worries If Not by Emma Hodgkinson

A Glass House by Charles Strider

Talking Rubbish by Ian Donnelly

Tickets for the 2025 Midlands Movies Awards can be purchased HERE