SHORT horror flicks submitted as part of a lockdown film festival started by a Stourbridge movie fan have been given a worldwide release by a film distribution company.

Stourbridge actor Alan Birch organised the competition in April following the success of the first-ever Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival which his Weeping Bank Productions company held in February before the coronavirus outbreak.

He said despite the gloom brought by the Covid-19 pandemic there has been a lot of creativity and so he decided to invite film and horror fans to shoot a two-minute 'isolation'-themed horror short on their smartphones during lockdown.

The competition proved a resounding hit with film-makers from near and far and Alan said: "It was great. It gave people something to do and created a lot of interest."

Weeping Bank Productions also secured a distribution deal from Meridian Releasing Group (MRG).

Through the distribution deal a number of the best films from the festival were snapped up for inclusion on the MRG Collective: Quarantined special edition release - including two short flicks filmed by Alan himself.

The 60-minute collection, which includes award-winning short films from around the world in addition to the lockdown short flicks, has now been distributed through Meridian Releasing Group and is available to buy on DVD/Blu-ray and on all major platforms including Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy.

It is currently available from Amazon UK for £20.66.