Rugby – A Midlands Story
‘Rugby – A Midlands Story’ is a short documentary film charting the heritage of the sport in the region that invented it. The film premiered at the official Rugby World Cup Fan Zone in Birmingham on the 26th September 2015.
We have always had a passion for sport and first had the idea for the film back in 2013 after we attended a Rugby World Cup conference at Villa Park. During the research for the film we uncovered a number of untold stories about Rugby in the region and we were honoured to film at many prestigious venues associated with the origins of the game.
The 15 minute film features Rugby School, Moseley Rugby Club, Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum and official Rugby World Cup host venue Aston Villa FC. It features rarely seen moving image archive of several England internationals from yesteryear, courtesy of ITV Sport and Media Archive for Central England (MACE).
During the premiere weekend the film was shown 5 times on a 100 sq/ft big screen viewed by over 7000 Rugby fans from around the world. A shorter version of the film ‘Rugby – The Origins’ screened during the opening ceremony of the World Cup at the birthplace of the game. It also screened 4 times a day to visiting school children at the ‘Rugby Village’.
The feature documentary also screened successfully at Moseley Rugby Club, aired on AVTV (Aston Villa TV) and was installed at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum as part of their exhibition on the history of the game.