Film News
Shane Meadows’ Chork Wraps Production For 42, Unified, Big Arty And One Shoe Films
Back To Push The Envelope
After more than a decade-long hiatus from the big screen, acclaimed filmmaker Shane Meadows is making a return to cinema with his latest project Chork, a bold new project that promises to reignite the raw, uncompromising storytelling that has cemented him as a defining voice in British film…
Set and shot along the East coast of England, from Kent through Lincolnshire, to Scotland, Chork follows fifteen-year-old Kit and eleven-year-old Ani as they leave their foster home and trek across the coastline in hopes of a brighter future. With the police in pursuit and a national search underway, Kit must use all her determination and wits to protect Ani and fulfil their mission.
Cast by Meadows’ frequent collaborator, Shaheen Baig (Adolescence, Hot Milk) the two have secured the film’s lead cast with open casting calls taking place earlier in the year throughout the UK.
Meadows said: “To be returning to film after 17 years, writing alongside ‘megadude’ Jack Thorne again, and working with so many gifted collaborators, has been an absolute privilege. Our story follows two beyond bright, funny as heck and mischievously ingenious young people on a ‘runaway’ road trip the length of this glorious isle. Safe to say, I’m beyond excited about what we’ve captured on their journey. I’m also hugely grateful to our partners at BBC Film, BFI, Screen Yorkshire, Hoopsa Films and Altitude for their undying trust and support throughout.”
Meadows is known for his bold, emotionally charged storytelling that often draws from his own upbringing in the Midlands. He gained critical acclaim with features TwentyFourSeven, Dead Man’s Shoes, A Room for Romeo Brass and Somers Town. This Is England, which premiered in Toronto in 2006, solidified his reputation, exploring themes of identity, youth, and nationalism in 1980s Britain and spawned three successful television series. His television credits also include The Virtues starring Stephen Graham and The Gallows Pole with Element Pictures for BBC/A24.
Written by Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Joy) and Meadows, Chork is produced by Ben Pugh and Cathy King for 42, Lauren Dark and Amy Jackson for Unified, Meadows’ Big Arty and Thorne’s One Shoe Films, both of whom will also Executive Produce. The film is financed by BBC Film, BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Screen Yorkshire (via the Yorkshire Content Fund), and Hoopsa Films. Executive Producers are Eva Yates and Kristin Irving for BBC Film, Louise Ortega for the BFI, Caroline Cooper Charles for Screen Yorkshire, Sonny Gill and Tim Macready for Hoopsa Films and Ali Jazayeri and Keith Kehoe for Three Picture Capital alongside Laura Jackson and Joshua Horsfield. The film was developed with BBC Film.
Altitude will release Chork in UK and Irish cinemas in 2026 and will manage international sales.
Eva Yates, Director of BBC Film adds:“The films of Shane Meadows are at the heart of contemporary British independent cinema and we are hugely excited to support his return, with a cast of exceptional new actors, his brilliant writing collaborator Jack Thorne, and an anarchic story of love, redemption and the untapped and profound potential of youth.”
Louise Ortega, Senior Production and Development Executive at the BFI, said: “We couldn’t be more excited to support Shane Meadows in his much-anticipated return to features with Chork, a typically funny, urgent and heartfelt state of the nation piece seen through the lens of two young girls making their way on a messy ride through Britain. Shane, his cowriter Jack Thorne, his producers Ben, Lauren, Amy and Cathy and their skilled crew of collaborators are weaving irreverent magic which asks timely questions. We can’t wait for their film to be out in the world, inspiring a new generation.”
Will Clarke, Chairman and Co-CEO at Altitude commented: “We’re all incredibly excited to be working with Shane again and the talented team behind Chork. Shane is a distinctive filmmaker and storyteller, and we cannot wait to bring this compelling and charming film to cinema audiences across the UK, Ireland and beyond. One of British cinema’s shining lights is back on the big screen!”
About 42
42 is a fully integrated management and production company, producing film, television and content, representing actors, writers, directors, comedians, presenters, producers, casting directors and media book rights, with offices in London and Los Angeles.
In film, 42 most recently wrapped on Next Life, written and directed by Drake Doremus, starring Emilia Clarke and Édgar Ramírez. Earlier this year 42’s production The Penguin Lessons was released, after having premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. The film, directed by Peter Cattaneo and written by Jeff Pope, is based on Tom Michell’s memoirs as a teacher in Argentina in the 70s and his friendship with a local penguin. For Amazon, 42 produced Picture This, starring Simone Ashley and Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and My Fault: London, based on the hit Wattpad book by Mercedes Ron. Both films premiered at number 1 worldwide on Amazon Prime for movies. My Fault’s two sequels, Your Fault and Our Fault, are currently in production, as is Chork written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne. Upcoming is The Bet written by Javier Gullon, which 42 will produce for Warner Bros.
For Netflix, 42’s productions include Millicent Shelton’s End of the Road, starring Queen Latifah and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges; The Weekend Away, starring Leighton Meester; Night Teeth, directed by Adam Randall and starring Jorge Lendeborg Jr. and Debby Ryan; and Outside the Wire, starring Anthony Mackie, which was a massive #1 hit on Netflix and for which a sequel is in active development. 42 produced Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s English language feature film debut The Silent Twins, starring Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance, which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards for Best Joint Lead Performance and Best Casting. The film was distributed by Focus Features. 42 also produced Cold War spy drama The Courier, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan, which premiered at Sundance and was released theatrically by Lionsgate in 2021; and Military Wives, starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was distributed by Lionsgate and Bleecker Street in 2020.
In TV, 42 has produced The Road Trip based on the book of the same name by Beth O’Leary. 42 also produced the global hit six-part romcom The Flatshare for Paramount+, based on another Beth O’Leary bestseller, starring Jessica Brown Findlay and Anthony Welsh. In 2021, 42 produced The Girl Before for BBC and HBO Max, starring Gugu Mbatha Raw and David Oyelowo, based on the million copy best-selling book by JP Delaney.
Previous productions include The English Game, a six-part television series by Julian Fellowes, launched internationally on Netflix in 2020; the Emmy award-winning Watership Down for BBC and Netflix, an animated mini-series adapted from the global best-selling book, featuring the voices of James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, John Boyega, Sir Ben Kingsley, Daniel Kaluuya, Gemma Arterton and Olivia Colman; Traitors, a six-part spy thriller for Channel 4 and Netflix, written by Bash Doran and starring Michael Stuhlbarg, Emma Appleton, Keeley Hawes and Luke Treadaway; and Wild Bill, a six-part drama series starring Rob Lowe for ITV.
About Unified Productions:
Unified Productions is a film and television production company based in London and Edinburgh, founded, in 2025, by award-winning producers Amy Jackson and Lauren Dark.
Working with the best storytellers from across film and television, UNIFIED is a home for bold, distinctive and ambitious filmmakers, creators and creatives who want to build engaging and thought-provoking work that reflects, inspires and entertains global audiences.
Led by partners with a track record in developing and physically producing some of the most exciting film and television projects of recent times, UNIFIED is focused on both building an ambitious, original film and television slate, and utilising unique skill sets to finance, produce and deliver North American and European co-productions, creating lasting and supportive relationships with International collaborators.
About BBC Film
Firmly established at the forefront of UK film, BBC Film has an ambitious slate featuring many of the most exciting filmmakers working today.
BBC Film is known for developing and co-producing work from new British talent alongside films from some of the UK’s most established filmmakers. Recent cinema releases include: THE SALT PATH based on the best-selling novel by Raynor Winn, directed by Marianne Elliott and starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, and Daisy-May Hudson’s Lollipopstarring Posy Sterling and Idil Ahmed. Upcoming releases include Brendan Canty’s Christywhich won the Grand Prix (Generation 14+) at Berlin Film Festival 2025.
Projects in production include: The Roots Manoeuvre written and directed by Raine Allen-Miller (Rye Lane) and starring Vivian Oparah and Toni Collette; Nicholas Hytner’s The Choral, based on a screenplay by Alan Bennett and starring Ralph Fiennes; the new ‘Peaky Blinders’ film, written by Steven Knight, directed by Tom Harper, and starring Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan and Rebecca Ferguson; Ted Evans’ debut thriller Retreat featuring an all-deaf principal cast which includes Anne Zander, James Boyle and Sophie Stone; and, Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightening, written by Enda Walsh and based on the novel by Keiran Goddard.
Four BBC Film backed titles screened in Official Selection and received jury awards at Cannes 2025, including three directorial debuts in Un Certain Regard: Akinola Davies Jnr’s My Father’s Shadow starring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, received the Camera d’Or Special Mention; Harry Lighton’s PILLION starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, was named Best Screenplay, and Harris Dickinson’s URCHIN whose lead actor, Frank Dillane, took the Best Actor award, with the film also receiving the FIPRESCI prize. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning premiered In Competition and took the Grand Prix award.
About the BFI Filmmaking Fund
The BFI Filmmaking Fund invests National Lottery funding into developing and supporting filmmakers with diverse, bold and distinctive projects that have cultural relevance or progressive ideas.
Three BFI titles world premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard, each receiving jury awards: My Father’s Shadow, directed and co-written by Akinola Davies Jr. and staring Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, received the Camera d’Or special mention; Pillion, written/directed by Harry Lighton and starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, was awarded Best Screenplay; and Urchin, written/directed by Harris Dickinson, won the Best Actor award for its lead Frank Dillane and received the Fipresci prize.
Upcoming releases include The Thing with Feathers, written/directed by Dylan Southern and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Lollipop, written/directed by Daisy-May Hudson. Projects in production include Animol, directed by Ashley Walters, written by Nick Love and starring Tut Nyuot, Vladyslav Baliuk and Stephen Graham; Ish, written and directed by Imran Perretta and co-written by Enda Walsh; Mark Jenkin’s latest, Rose of Nevada starring George MacKay and Callum Turner; Retreat written/directed by Ted Evans; and Clio Barnard’s latest feature I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, written by Enda Walsh.
Released titles include Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, winner of the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut and seven BIFAs including Best British Independent Film; BIFA award-winning Santosh from writer/director Sandhya Suri; Sister Midnight from writer/director Karan Kandhari, On Falling, from writer/director Laura Carreira and winner of the First Feature (Sutherland) Award at the BFI London Film Festival; Janis Pugh’s Chuck Chuck Baby winner of two BAFTA Cymru awards for best Feature/TV Film and Breakthrough Cymru for Pugh; and Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex, which won the top prize in Un Certain Regard when it premiered in Cannes in 2023 and the film’s star Mia Mckenna-Bruce also won the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award.
The BFI is a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image.
Our mission is:
· To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers
· To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive
· To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals – delivered online and in venue
· To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding
· To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Jay Hunt OBE.
About Screen Yorkshire
Screen Yorkshire is the engine that drives the film and TV industries in Yorkshire and Humber. Its aim is to secure and support the very best projects, companies and individuals, helping to make the region one of the most sought-after destinations for production in the UK. It facilitates the Yorkshire Content Fund that provides production finance to encourage projects to shoot within the region, supports productions from all over the world through its Film Office and delivers ground-breaking training and development programmes to foster talent and build a skilled, versatile and diverse workforce.
About the Yorkshire Content Fund
The Yorkshire Content Fund is a public-private investment fund for the TV, film, video games
and digital sectors in Yorkshire and Humber, open to producers either based in Yorkshire or
wishing to film or establish a base in the region. Up to £500k investment is available per project and the fund is open to TV, film, video games and digital sectors.
Previous projects supported by the fund include: A Bunch of Amateurs, The Duke, All Creatures Great and Small, Peaky Blinders, Ackley Bridge, Dad’s Army and Ali and Ava.
About Hoopsa Films
Hoopsa Films is an independent film & tv outfit focused on the development, production and financing of first tier, auteur led feature films and documentaries.
Founded in 2023 by Sonny Gill & Tim Macready, the company slate consists of bold, original stories from visionary filmmakers, with upcoming productions including Cal McMau’s prison thriller Wasteman, starring David Jonsson and Tom Blyth, which is set for release by Lionsgate for the UK & Ireland.
About One Shoe Films
One Shoe Films is an independent film and television production company, founded by award-winning screenwriter Jack Thorne in 2017. It has since co-produced Adolescence(2025, Netflix), Toxic Town (2025, Netflix), Best Interests (2023, BBC), Then Barbara Met Alan (2022, Netflix), Help (2021, Channel 4), The Aeronauts (2019, Amazon Prime), as well as the upcoming The Hack (ITV), Falling (Channel 4) and Lord of the Flies (BBC).
About Altitude
Altitude (Altitude Media Group) is the independent UK based studio launched in 2012 by chairman Will Clarke and joint-CEO Andy Mayson. The group comprises of Altitude Film Production, Altitude Film Sales with Managing Director Mike Runagall, Altitude Film Distribution, Altitude Factual and Altitude Television with Managing Director Chris Clark. Since 2020, US based investment group 30WEST have held a significant minority stake in the group.
Altitude’s international slate includes rollercoaster survival thriller, Hell Ride starring award-winning actor, Kelsey Grammer; action/horror, Headless directed by visionary filmmakers, The Spierig Brother; SXSW hit horror, Good Boy from director Ben Leonberg; Felipe Vargas’ pulse-pounding thriller, Propel starring Leslie Grace; teen thriller Sweetness from writer/director, Emma Higgins; high-concept spider thriller, Arachnid from the producers of the John Wick franchise; In the Shadows, the inspirational true story of Ramla Ali, starring Top Boy’s Jasmine Jobson; Nick Love’s subversive ‘Rom-Com’, Marching Powder starring Danny Dyer; heart-stopping action thriller, Turbulence from the team behind No Way Up; the Marianne Faithfull biopic, Faithfull; Danny Cannon’s high concept horror, Obey; PG-13 horror, Dangerous Games to Play, from the team behind Tarot and The Pope’s Exorcist; action-comedy, The Honest Liar starring Samuel L. Jackson; and contained thriller, No Way Off.
Since launching in 2013 Altitude Film Distribution have proudly supported talented filmmakers and given their films the dynamic and bold releases they deserve.
To date Altitude have championed over 250 films, ranging from the Academy and BAFTA award-winners, Moonlight, I’m Still Here, Rocks, Minari, 20 Feet from Stardom, Amy, I am Not Your Negro through to critically acclaimed Ocean with David Attenborough, The Florida Project, Diego Maradona, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Ali & Ava, Titane, Lady Macbeth, Beast, Talk To Me, Blue Jean, David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet and more.
Forthcoming releases include Berlin Film Festival winner Christy from Brendan Canty, A Private Life from Rebecca Zlotowski and starring Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil and Mathieu Amalric. Nouvelle Vague from director Richard Linklater and Oliver Laxe’s Sirat.
