It was with great excitement that our latest short film, “Connect 4”, was screened at the 2026 edition of Manchester Film Festival on the 25th March 2026.
After a series of film festival selections, a nomination for Best Cinematography at Worcester Film Festival and even an award win at Wigan & Leigh Film Festival (both of which are BIFA accredited), it was an unbelievable joy to see out our festival run with an absolute bang at a festival we have loved so much over the years.
Overview of short film, “Connect 4”
“Connect 4” is our most recent short film and was shot in February 2025 alongside Norwegian production company, Flare. It is a comedy-drama that follows our main character Frank, in the final of the Connect 4 World Championships where the pressure has become too much for him. A nervous breakdown in a toilet cubicle sees his chances of defeating the 3-time Russian grandmaster diminish fast.
The film channels the idiosyncrasies of humour rooted in the North West of England with the directorial stylings of Edgar Wright to produce a whacky pastiche of the sports film genre that also explores the complexities of overbearing parental relationships.
The film was unbelievably fun to produce and saw us work with a vast array of amazing local talent such as lead actors, Ronan Taylor (Frank) and Liam Grunshaw (Dad).
The comedy genre is one we had long wanted to tackle and really feels like an area we can continue to produce exciting new films in. To be able to screen the film at such a big festival in the area that the whole film is rooted in provided an extra level of satisfaction.
Overview of Manchester Film Festival
Manchester Film Festival was established in 2015. Since then they have gone on to gain accreditation from the two leading film award bodies in the country, BIFA and BAFTA.
The festival spans over 11 days, across multiple venues in Manchester, screening a wide selection of feature films and short films. On top of this, numerous industry events are put on, featuring panels, film compeitions and networking sessions to bring together individuals from all sectors of the film industry.
This year’s edition was opened at Aviva Studios with a screening of short film “Psychopomp” as well as the feature film “The Good Boy”. Actor, Kit Harrington, joined the festival team on stage to answer questions about his directorial debut with “Pshycopomp”
What happened at Manchester Film Festival 2026?
“Connect 4” was screened on the evening of the 25th March 2026 as part of the North West Shorts 2 block of films, featuring short films produced by filmmakers from the North West of England.
Before the evening screening, the red carpet was rolled out with filmmakers posing for photos and taking part in interviews for the official Manchester Film Festival YouTube channel.
Actors Liam Grunshaw and Ronan Taylor joined the film’s Director (Matt Green), Producer (Marcus Johnson) and Gaffer (Arthur Šiukšta) on the red carpet where Matt and Marcus went on to answer questions about the inspiration behind the film and how they brought it all together.
The sold out cinema screen of over 200 people provided a buzzing atmosphere with plenty of laughs throughout “Connect 4” bringing a lot of joy to all of us involved with the film.
Quote from producer, Marcus Johnson
The film’s producer and Managing Director of Glacé Media, Marcus Johnson, said of the night;
“It was an amazing experience to be part of Manchester Film Festival. A festival I been to many times now because of the consistent quality they always programme. To know we were selected amongst the incredibly high calibre of films they screen every year was so fulfilling. The process of making a film is really satisfying in of itself, that’s why we do it. But to have those special moments where you can watch it on the big screen alongside a packed out room and feel the reaction of the audience is really special. The night of our screening at Manchester Film Festival was absolutely one of those nights and it will live long in the memory.
Future plans for the film
“Connect 4” will be screened at one more film festival before it closes its festival run. The film will be featured in the LA1 Shorts Film Festival in Lancaster, screening on the Saturday 30th May.
The film is being billed for a summer online release. Follow the Glacé Media or the film’s Instagram page for more details on the release.
We are currently in pre-production for our next short film which is due to be shot in May of 2026.
