The Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass, a celebrated two-day independent filmmaking event that has reshaped over 3,000 careers, is coming to Lancaster for the first time, hosted at the University of Cumbria on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June 2026.
The masterclass is led by filmmaker and bestselling author Chris Jones, whose career spans micro-budget British independent films all the way to an Oscar shortlisting for his 2008 short Gone Fishing, as well as directing splinter unit on Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Parts 1 and 2.
The event brings together filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, directors and actors for two packed days covering the entire journey from idea to screen to sales — with nothing held back.
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The masterclass is organised in association with The Bay International Film Festival and Bay Education and Creative Hub, both based in Morecambe, organisations committed to bringing world-class film events and career opportunities to Northern filmmakers, at a time when the vast majority of events like this happen exclusively in London.
Over 3,000 delegates have attended previous masterclasses, giving the event an overall rating of 4.8 out of 5. More than 99% agreed it was great value for money. 98% said they would recommend it to a friend.
During the programme, delegates work through the complete filmmaking process from story development and screenwriting through to budgeting, fundraising, casting, production, directing, camera and sound, post-production, sales, distribution, film festivals and what to do when Hollywood comes calling. The tone is honest, practical and energising — the opposite of film school theory.
Day 1 runs from 9:00am to approximately 7:00pm (registration from 8:30am). Day 2 includes a networking breakfast from 9:30am, with sessions running from 10am to approximately 6:00pm.
Host Chris Jones is a filmmaker, author and industry advocate who has spent his career at every level of the film industry. He began making feature films with no money and no connections, going on to achieve a cinema release, agent representation and Hollywood deals. He is the founder and director of the London Screenwriters Festival, the world’s biggest screenwriting event, which has served over 10,000 creatives since launch in 2010.
Since Gone Fishing was Oscar-shortlisted in 2008, he has co-executive produced a four-part docuseries on the notorious Enfield Poltergeist hauntings for Apple TV and directed splinter unit on Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Parts 1 and 2. He is also the author of six editions of the bestselling The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook, a guide to independent filmmaking.
Previous delegate Ray Brady, a producer and director, said: “Chris’s seminar managed to refocus my career and was the most intense motivational filmmaking adrenaline shot I’ve ever experienced. Chris Jones is simply a movie Jedi master.”
Writer Stephen Pelly claimed to have “learned more in 2 days than in 2 years of Media Studies,” while editor and director Giovanni Todeschini asserted: “The Guerilla Filmmakers Masterclass is the two days that every film school should open with but never do.”
