Private Project

Meat Raffle

'Cumbria, 1998. Terrified he's turned his son queer, closeted dad Rich plots to rig his local pub’s Christmas turkey draw to prove what it means to be a real man.'

This BAFTA-qualifying, BFI-backed LGBTQ+ short film is a bleakly funny, charmingly bizarre, queer genre gem set in Carlisle, Cumbria in the North West of England. Starring Michael Hodgson (BBC Three's Smoggie Queens) and Dominic Weatherill (Star Wars: Andor), Meat Raffle is now streaming on Channel 4 in the UK, after being nominated for Film4 Best British Short Film at Iris Prize 2025.

"Meat Raffle is full of surprises and the excellent cast are beautifully photographed by Stuart Armstrong.” – Ian McKellen

"Fizzing with more nerve and charm than plenty of features … Meat Raffle is a blast of pure northern glory that juggles laughs, secrets and tender emotion without dropping a single ball. Armstrong has created something deeply personal. Unmissable. Outstanding!" ★★★★★ – Short Films Matter

"Armstrong’s contained and concise Meat Raffle is as absurd as it is entertaining, filled with plenty of heart and poignancy to boot … the whole thing makes you feel like you’ve just walked in and ordered a pint." – UK Film Review

  • Stuart Armstrong
    Director
    Lay-by
  • Stuart Armstrong
    Writer
    Paul Is Dead, The Leerie
  • Harry Shaw
    Producer
    Rice Ball, Don't Think Twice
  • Samantha Locock
    Producer
    Rice Ball, The Dandies of Albertopolis
  • Michael Hodgson
    Key Cast
    "Rich"
    Smoggie Queens
  • Will Latimer
    Key Cast
    "Jackson"
  • Dominic Weatherill
    Key Cast
    "Alan"
    Andor
  • Julie Edwards
    Key Cast
    "Tammy"
    Coronation Street
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 21, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.66:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Bolton International Film Festival
    Bolton, Greater Manchester, England
    United Kingdom
    October 1, 2025
    World Premiere, UK Premiere, English Premiere
    Nominee: Best Made Up North
  • Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival
    Cardiff, Wales
    United Kingdom
    October 17, 2025
    Welsh Premiere
    Nominee: Best British Short 2025 supported by Film4
  • Tees Valley International Film Festival
    Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham
    United Kingdom
    November 7, 2025
    Winner: Best Comedy
  • Northern Exposure (BFI / Film Hub North)
    Touring programme (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Liverpool, Sheffield)
    United Kingdom
    November 19, 2025
  • Bradford Queer Film Festival
    Bradford
    United Kingdom
    November 20, 2025
  • The Bay International Film Festival
    Morcambe, England
    United Kingdom
    January 24, 2026
    Winner: Best Northern Short
  • Berlin British Shorts
    Berlin
    Germany
    January 25, 2026
    German Premiere
  • Shark Short Film Awards

    Silver: Best Colour Grading
  • Keswick Film Festival
    Keswick, Cumbria
    United Kingdom
    March 21, 2026
    Open Award Winner
Distribution Information
  • Channel 4 (Oct 2025 - Oct 2026)
    Distributor
    Country: United Kingdom
    Rights: Internet, Video on Demand
  • Film4 (Oct 2025)
    Distributor
    Country: United Kingdom
    Rights: Free TV
Director Biography - Stuart Armstrong

Stuart Armstrong is a screenwriter and director from Cumbria, UK whose work blends black comedy with emotionally grounded, character-driven drama, often told through a queer, distinctly regional lens.

His latest short film, the BAFTA-qualifying Meat Raffle (BFI NETWORK), recently premiered at Bolton International Film Festival 2025, where it was nominated for Best Film Made Up North.

Meat Raffle was also nominated for Film4 Best British Short at Iris Prize 2025 and as such is now streaming on Channel 4. The film has drawn praise from critics and industry alike, with Sir Ian McKellen noting that “Meat Raffle is full of surprises and the excellent cast are beautifully photographed by Stuart Armstrong.”

Stuart is represented by JBR Creative Management and is currently developing several television and film projects, including his debut feature – a queer psychosexual thriller set against the Lake District’s second-homes crisis.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Meat Raffle's roots lie in my own experiences growing up queer in a small village in Cumbria. Even now, attitudes around sexuality often feel stuck in the 90s, and Grindr is still mostly a wall of faceless, ‘discreet’ profiles. It’s a world of contradiction which I’ve never really seen reflected on screen.

Our protagonist, Rich, is a mash-up of my own relatives and old gadgies from pubs I’ve worked in. His quiet battle to figure himself out later in life, while navigating all the unspoken rules and expectations around masculinity, is something I think a lot of men are still going through. I’ve tried to capture both the pathos and the black humour of that struggle and walk the line between the grotesque, the tender, and the absurd.

I’m really proud of how many locals we got involved, both in front of and behind the camera. There’s not exactly a thriving film industry up here, so it meant a lot to give local crew – a lot of whom have to move away for work – a reason to come home. Our cast were brilliant too, especially Will Latimer, who plays Jackson. He’d never acted before, but at 18, he threw himself into the role with raw talent and real pride in the script’s unapologetic Cumbrian dialect.

Achieving the film's visual style was also quite a process. I worked closely with DOP Ben Cotgrove (ACS Australian Cinematographer of the Year 2024), sound designer Sam Mason (of BIFA-winning post-sound company Aumeta), and colourist Lewis Crossfield (of London post-house Coffee & TV) to emulate the feel of a 35mm print that’s been sat in someone’s garage for 30 years. In the spirit of The Holdovers, we used period camera techniques, shot colour chart grade refs on film, ran the sound mix through tape reels, and added halation and gate weave in post to give it that rough, nostalgic, period-appropriate texture despite the film being shot on the brand new Arri Alexa 35.

This film only exists thanks to the generosity, energy, and good humour of our cast, crew, and the people of Carlisle; from the local butcher who donated our turkey, to the am-dram theatre that gave us their green room, to the church that let us build a toilet cubicle set and film a cottaging scene in their 15th century barn. It’s been a mad, joyful process from start to finish, and I’m properly proud of what we’ve managed to make together.

So thank you for watching Meat Raffle. I hope it resonates – or at the very least, makes you laugh uncomfortably.