Young filmmaker lands awards for his documentary on south Shropshire river campaign
A young filmmaker’s documentary about a campaign to protect a south Shropshire river has won three awards.
Five years ago, aged just 12, Finn Middleton made his filmmaking debut with a playful short film comparing English and Australian sharks, which was screened at the Good Natured Optimism Film Festival.
Finn, now aged 17, has returned to the film festival with a powerful new documentary, called The Onny’s Story: A Fight for the Future.
The film tells the story of the grassroots campaign to stop a controversial pipeline development in the River Onny, Shropshire.
The campaign saw locals and environmentalists fight plans for a four-mile pipe to carry sewage effluent from Bishop’s Castle and “dump it” in the River Onny.
An online petition “to stop the pipe” reached nearly 8,000 signatures before Severn Trent pulled the plug on the plans.
Finn’s film documenting the campaign has already earned him a Distinction in his Media Production course at Hereford College of Arts.
It also secured a Best Documentary nomination at the Sustain Film Festival, and now has been crowned with the award for Best Student Film at the 2025 Good Natured Optimism Festival, alongside gaining Runner Up for Audience Favourite and Most Optimistic Film.
Finn's film was screened at the Oxford Museum of Natural History as part of the Good Natured Optimism Film Festival 2025, in front of 200 people, and Finn was part of the Director Q&A panel with acclaimed professional filmmakers.
He said: “I’ve always loved wildlife and storytelling, but this film feels different.
“The River Onny is part of where I grew up, and I wanted to show how important it is to protect rivers like this for future generations, and the wildlife in it .”
