Alicia MacDonald Captures Manchester Spirit with Charming Rom-Com ‘Finding Emily'

​The Corner Shop filmmaker Alicia MacDonald escaped London and went up the M1 to shoot her first feature film ‘Finding Emily’ in Manchester. Who needs the Hollywood Hills when you’ve got the Arndale Center and Castlefield Bowl? The beauty of the North shines in every frame of Alicia’s new romantic comedy becoming a central part of the film's narrative. After spending six months living in Manchester it’s safe to say it’s become a special place for Alicia that will forever be tied to her first feature.

The film stars Spike Fearn, Angourie Rice, Prasannsa Puwaranjah and Minnie Driver and will be released in the UK on Friday, May 22nd 2026.

Q> Could you tell us more about how you captured the unique history of Manchester for the film?

Alicia> I loved working with our location managers who were all excited by this rare opportunity to put their gorgeous city on the big screen (where it goddamn belongs!). I was thrilled to be shooting in a place that had so much character but was rarely (and bafflingly) the setting of a comedy film. I felt a responsibility to get it right! Manchester aches and vibrates with such fascinating history and music, fashion and footy and I was keen to recce every corner of it. I wanted to shoot outside as much as possible to anchor the film in Manchester but equally, I didn’t want to shoe-horn in its iconic landmarks just for the sake of it, they had to feel earned and part of our character’s real-lives. For example, with Owen’s cycling sequence at the start of the film, I wanted to be sure that that was genuinely the route he’d have taken to get to work and that we weren’t having him swing round the Pankhurst statue gratuitously.

Q> The music of Manchester is forever integrated into the culture of the city, could you tell us more about how you used a mixture of iconic and up and coming home grown artists?

Alicia> Some of the biggest bands in the world have come out of Manchester - Joy Division, The Smiths, Oasis etc. I felt a real responsibility to nod to that legacy (look out for a cheeky cameo from Hacienda DJ legend Luke Una!) but I also really wanted to showcase the new artists that are coming out of Manchester (Phoebe Green, WH Lung, Antony Szmierek to name but a few). I went to a lot of gigs and scoured the internet looking for new bands and musicians who were doing something soulful and interesting that would fit into the film. And of course Morgan Kibby the composer designed our themes and beautifully tied the whole thing together.

Q> It’s refreshing to see a romantic comedy set outside of London. Did any other Northern based films inspire the look and feel of the film?

Alicia> It was less about Northern based films and more a general vibe and a momentum I was concerned with. Although having said that, Rachel Clarke (DOP) was a camera trainee on ‘Control’ and even though it’s a totally different tone and colour, that beautiful fluidity and honesty was so inspiring.

I think what the best romantic comedies have is a specificity of time and place. It was the specific age of being 22 (and away from home if you’re Emily) that I wanted to lean into - when you’re not quite a grown up and not quite a kid, you’re a squall of confounding emotions and life feels unwieldy and exciting and well, just a lot. I wanted a real coming-of-age indie spirit to it.

Q> How did working in commercials and other short film projects prepare for your first feature?

Alicia> Subconsciously I must’ve used every scrap of experience I’d had up until this point. I’ve always been really interested in satire (since my very first short film in 2015) and how to delicately balance the political with the comical and still be emotionally engaging, soulful and cinematic. Comedy has always been a big part of my work and honing my tone in various sketches and commercials over the years has been vital. I wish I could remember who it was who told me that ‘when you make someone laugh, for that moment, you have their undivided attention’. I always thought that was interesting. I feel really privileged to be able to work in both the short and long-form worlds.

When it came to casting, I wanted actors who understood comedy but who could also hook into the messy and mystifying truth of a person. The performances had to be anchored in honesty. Watching Angourie and Spike connect, challenge, and transform one another within a beautifully framed two-shot (courtesy of supreme cinematographer Rachel Clark) has been one of the greatest joys of my life.

For more information about directors at the The Corner Shop, please contact
​tanya@thecornershop.tv or heather@thecornershop.tv in the UK.

For USA anna@thecornershop.tv or jay@thecornershop.tv