Mini is the new mighty.
Mini Productions is a multi-award-winning production company founded in 2012 and co-owned by April Kelley and Sara Huxley. Built on the belief that the impact of a story is defined by its ability to inspire change, Mini champions meaningful, thought-provoking filmmaking that amplifies underrepresented voices and explores important social themes.
The company’s debut feature, Rose: A Love Story, premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and was nominated for the Raindance Discovery Award at the 2020 BIFAs. Their BIFA and BAFTA-longlisted short, Edith, led to the production of Christian Cooke’s debut feature, Embers, which premiered at Raindance Film Festival and earned a Best UK Film nomination.
Recent projects include the feature-length trans documentary Tomorrow’s Too Late, which premiered at Sheffield DocFest and will conclude its festival run at Frameline before embarking on a limited theatrical release this year. In 2025, Mini produced two narrative features: Murder at the Embassy, distributed by Lionsgate, and Plainclothes, the debut feature from Carmen Emmi, starring Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey, with whom they previously collaborated on Matt Kennard’s WWI short Hymn of Hate. Plainclothes premiered at Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast, and was released theatrically in the U.S. and U.K. by Magnolia Pictures and Curzon.
Alongside its feature and television slate, Mini Productions has consistently produced short films across a range of genres to refine its creative voice and collaborate with both emerging and established talent. These include Ouzo and Blackcurrant, directed by BAFTA-nominated Nat Luurtsema, which was distributed by Crypt TV; the comedy Annie Waits, directed by Marnie Paxton, which won Deadline’s Women and Hollywood First-Time Female Filmmaker Award; and the Turkish short Krizalit, which was nominated for the 2025 Iris Prize and is currently on the festival circuit.
Mini Productions’ short films are available on Disney+, Amazon Prime, and ShortsTV. The company works closely with the Film and TV Charity and was the first production company to pilot its Whole Picture Toolkit, which supports mental health and wellbeing at every stage of production.
April is an award-winning actor, writer, and BIFA nominated producer known for her creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit. Showcasing her savviness, she founded Mini Productions at the age of 21, whilst still in drama school, she then met Sara Huxley and as they say, the rest is history.
As a writer, April has been acclaimed for her raw, honest, and relatable work. Her debut film, Treacle, which she also starred in and produced in collaboration with the Bisexual Resource Centre, premiered at BFI Flare in 2019. That same year, she was selected as one of the six queer filmmakers for the BFI Network & BAFTA at Flare Mentorship, highlighting her talent and potential. Treacle went on to screen at over 70 festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards including Best Women in Film at Bolton Film Festival.
In 2021, April wrote and premiered her film Just in Case at the BAFTA-qualifying Norwich Film Festival, which, amongst others, went on to win the Audience Award at the Mental Health Rights Film Festival led by the Lisbon Institute of Global Mental Health.
In 2022, she premiered her third film, Do This for Me, at BFI Flare, solidifying her reputation as a distinguished filmmaker. She has now developed the trilogy of films into a TV series, which in 2023 won ‘Crip Script Pitch’ at ReelAbilities Film Festival: New York. She’s been awarded industry engagement/mentorship with AMC Networks.
In 2024, April produced Plainclothes, a feature film starring Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey, and is the debut for writer/director Carmen Emmi. Set in the ’90s and inspired by true events, a working-class undercover officer is tasked with entrapping and apprehending gay men, only to find himself drawn to one of his targets. Set for release in 2025.
Previously, she spent four years as a part of the BFI London Film Festival team, where she produced red carpet content, interviews, and social media coverage.
Beyond her accomplishments in the entertainment industry, April is known for her active advocacy work. She serves as a vocal ambassador for Bipolar UK, actively promoting mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ rights.
Based in both LA and London, her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact through her work has earned her admiration and respect.
Sara Huxley is a BIFA and BAFTA nominated Film & TV Producer and a HETV Line Producer.
Sara originally trained as a professional actor at Rose Bruford College on their BA Acting Course. She founded End of the Line theatre in 2013, which became an affiliate company of Hull Truck Theatre, then moved into producing film and TV with producing partner April Kelley.
In 2020, she was Head of Production at Studio71 UK, delivering a multitude of shows to the BBC, Channel 4, Discovery and The History Channel. In 2021 Sara Huxley was nominated for a TV BAFTA for a film she produced called The Main Part for BBC Sparks. The film was for BBC iPlayer as part of their monologues strand and was directed by Rosie Westhoff (Treacle).
Alongside Mini, Sara has Line Produced many HETV shows including: BBC’s Worzel Gummidge starring Mackenzie Crook; a feature-length special of Detectorists also starring Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones, which aired on BBC 2 on Boxing Day 2022 and Romantic Getaway starring Romesh Ranganathan and Katherine Ryan for Sky Studios. Most recently Sara co-produced the multi-award winning Mr Bates Vs The Post Office for ITV Studios, a 4 x 1hr Drama written by Gwyneth Hughes, directed by James Strong and starring an ensemble cast led by Toby Jones. The series is a dramatisation of the British Post Office scandal, a miscarriage of justice in which hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly prosecuted (privately and publicly) for theft, false accounting or fraud due to a faulty computer system called Horizon.The series was credited for igniting public interest in the scandal and led to demands for the former Post Office CEO Paula Vennells to have her CBE withdrawn; a petition that accrued more than 1.2 million signatures. The series won the Jury Prize at the 2024 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and won the Judges Prize at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2024. It is currently nominated for best Drama Performance and Best New Drama at the 2024 National Television Awards.
Most recently, Sara has just finished Line Producing a 7 x 1 hr episode Crime Drama for ITV Studios and is in post production for Mini’s current feature Murder At The Embassy.
In 2022 Sara became a full voting member of BAFTA and was awarded a Fellowship at Rose Bruford College for her extensive work in the industry since graduating.