PUB landlord and former bricklayer Sam Robinson, owner of 1331 restaurant and bar in Grape Lane, York, is preparing to screen his first feature film to an audience of several hundred at York’s Reel Cinema tonight.

Although he is new to filmmaking, producer and writer Sam has spent the past year screening Whoops! at international festivals and cinemas across the country.

Already the York black comedy has been showcased at the 2013 Raindance Film Festival, when it was named by festival head Elliot Grove as “My favourite British film of the last ten years”, followed by screenings in Vue cinemas around Britain this summer.

Festival screenings have taken place in Toronto, London and France, where Whoops was nominated for the Jury Prize and People’s Choice Awards at the Nantes Film Festival. The Star newspaper in Toronto, meanwhile, reckoned it was "the cutest movie ever made about a killing spree".

The film's blackly comic story revolves around wife and mother Rose Clements (played by Elaine Glover), who becomes an accidental serial killer after offing several members of the public in a series of bizarre and bloody accidents. Out of love for his wife, husband Dave (Phil Rowson) dutifully covers up the bodies as the local police close in.

Sam established his production company Heavy Elephant to create the film, joining forces with York filmmakers Tony Hipwell and Miles Watts, of MilesTone Films. Whoops! was duly filmed in 2012 in York, using a cast and crew gathered together from the Yorkshire area that included actors Andrew Dunn, Olwen May, Scott Taylor and Paul Tamblin.

“I’d had a dream of making movies since I was a boy, and it really started to come true when Miles and Tony came on board," says Sam.

"The story of Whoops! is based on a short story I wrote ten years ago and was influenced by an real-life scary incident involving my wife Janice. Miles and Tony loved the story and encouraged me to make it into a full-length feature. Teaming up, we produced the screenplay, then set about making it."

Despite its year of festival and cinema screenings, Whoops! is yet to be shown in its home city of York, making tonight's premiere a significant one for the filmmakers, who are planning a lavish red carpet event at Reel York in Blossom Street.

“Reel (formerly Odeon) York is the cinema where I saw all of my favourite films growing up, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones, so it’s very special to me to be screening my first film here,” says Sam of the 700-seater Screen One, where Whoops! will be shown

Whoops! is the third feature film for director Miles Watts, whose zombie web series Zomblogalypse – made with fellow Whoops! director Tony Hipwell – has run for six years and last year secured a sales agent at Cannes and major studio interest for a feature version.

“Sam came to us three years ago with this story and we couldn’t pass on it : it’s just the right mix of funny, cinematic and gory," says Miles.

"There’s a small but memorable amount of blood and shocks, yet at the centre is this genuine love story that draws you in. It was an excuse to make a big, old-fashioned audience pleaser of a movie and it’s gone down brilliantly with audiences so far.”

Whoops! will continue to screen in British cinemas into 2015, leading to a planned home release on DVD later next year.

“We want to show it to as many audiences as possible,” says Sam. "That's partly because it’s an audience film and partly so that when we eventually do distribute it, a lot of people will be keen to buy it and support independent cinema.”

Meanwhile, Miles Tone Films are to release a second feature film, Amber, next year, having shown their 2010 debut ,CrimeFighters, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. They are now in pre-production for their new zombie feature, Zomblogalypse, based on their long-running cult web series.

Around 400 tickets have been sold so far for tonight's York premiere of Whoops! at Reel York, so plenty are still available at £5 online at whoopsthemovie.co.uk, on 01904 661130 or in person from1331. The 7pm show will be followed by a question-and-answer session with cast and crew, then onwards to 1331for the after-show party.

Did you know?

Sam Robinson left school at 16, trained as a bricklayer and now runs his own bar/restaurant in York, 1331, with his wife Janice. The bar has a 26-seat luxury attic cinema, Brandy Brown's Cinema, that helped fuel his love for film and introduced him to other filmmakers. Through making his first feature, Sam now has his own production company, Heavy Elephant.