Lancashire Firestorm Presents: November 2026 with Doc North

Discover the future of filmmaking on the big screen.

Lancashire Firestorm Presents is a regular showcase of outstanding short films from emerging and established filmmakers from across the UK and around the world. Each programme is carefully curated by the Lancashire Film Network team and offers audiences the chance to experience bold storytelling, fresh perspectives and award-winning cinema that you won't find in mainstream multiplexes.

From laugh-out-loud comedies and gripping dramas to thought-provoking documentaries and imaginative genre films, every showcase brings together a unique collection of shorts designed to entertain, inspire and surprise.

Whether you're a dedicated film lover, aspiring filmmaker or simply looking to experience something different, these screenings provide a rare opportunity to discover exciting new voices and celebrate the art of short filmmaking on the cinema screen.

For the final edition of Firestorm Presents this year, we’ve partnered with 2027 festival partner Doc North CIC and Northern Heart Films to showcase short films funded through their Northern Doc Fund initiative.

Enjoy the following documentaries on Preston’s biggest cinema screens:

• Binderella: Praying to their Goddess of the Bins, Binderella, a community rummages through supermarket bins in search of sovereignty, sustainability, and a fully intact trifle.
• A Light is Always On: A window into the history, perspective, and daily rituals of a selection of Gujarati Hindu women living in Bolton.
• Now That’s What I Call Doc Pudding: Dock pudding is a Calder Valley dish made from dock leaves, celebrated in Mytholmroyd’s World Championships. As floods reshape the valley and younger generations drift away, the ritual faces uncertainty. The film explores how food binds community, memory and place.
• Existential Dread & Other Vibes: Longing for the past whilst anxiously waiting for the future, Existential Dread & Other Vibes is a film about Post-Graduate Despair - A phenomenon facing young people, questioning their place in the world after finishing the last big milestone before adulthood.
• Kitty and Her Accordion: Against the backdrop of 1950s Liverpool, a daughter reflects on her working-class mother's suppressed musical dreams and how they inspired her own pursuit of creative freedom.
• Intermittent & Continuous: In northern England’s Peak District, Rita works in a male-dominated quarry, listening closely to the machinery. An exploration of how attention, memory and sensation are entangled and held within the body.
• How To Build A Life: directed by UCLan filmmaking graduate Matty Reese - Louis, a young man with Asperger's, talks candidly with his older brother about the bullying that nearly ended his life, and about finding hope through his new focus on Lego and his dog.
• Joy Uncensored: Retired Joy France attempts to break gender and age stereotypes by competing in the brutal, youthful, male-dominated world of battle rap. A story of one woman's daring attempt to embrace life.

Plus, representatives from Doc North will join the Lancashire Film Network team for a live Q&A following the films. It’s your last chance to experience Firestorm before the main event ignites into life - only at Arc Cinema Preston - from February 4th to 7th.

Firestorm Film Festival 2027 and Lancashire Firestorm Presents is presented by Lancashire Film Network CIC, in conjunction with The Arc Cinema, Preston BID, Creative Lancashire, Film Hub North, BFI Film Audience Network and Doc North.