Dirty Faces Cinema

Emerged from the mill towns, youth culture creative studio Dirty Faces transformed Tony’s Empress Ballroom into a cinema for two festival weekends in both 2023 and 2024.

Blackburn’s Tony’s Ballroom opened in the 1920s and has witnessed every youth movement that followed since. Having closed its doors in 2003, the National Festival of Making has been honoured to programme a series of eclectic exhibitions and installations over the years. 

In 2023, local creative studio Dirty Faces proposed turning the space into a temporary cinema, hosting curated film screenings, artist Q&As and DJs; a place for people to connect with fellow film enthusiasts, makers, musicians, artists and everyone in between.

Together, we launched an open call to shape the line-up, aiming to showcase some of the best independent films from talented emerging and established filmmakers. ⁠

Tony’s was transformed – sofas took over the sprung dancefloor and over 25 films were screened, including Alfie by Aaron Dunleavy, Youth of the Rural North by Juliet Klottrup, Brown Sheep by Konna Thompson and Tony’s Ballroom by Pete Eastwood.

Talks with filmmakers sparked conversations about what it means to ‘create’ as a young person in the North and inspired the return of Dirty Faces Cinema in 2024.

The following year saw the programme expand to include more screenings, a panel discussion, and a filmmaking workshop with Idle Work Factory, whose team discussed their journeys into film as working-class creatives and their ethos of providing opportunities for first-time filmmakers and actors. 

About Dirty Faces Studio

Dirty Faces is a Lancashire-based film studio dedicated to inspiring and connecting the next generation of Lancashire filmmakers.

With a strong focus on DIY filmmaking and storytelling, their events and projects are driven by a passion for breaking glass ceilings within the industry. 


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National Festival of Making embodies everything we love about creativity in the North. The opportunity to transform such an iconic space and host a weekend which invites new young audiences through the door (two years in a row) is invaluable for everybody involved.

Brody Salmon, Dirty Faces

Photography by Fiona Finchett and Robin Zahler.