Acclaim for young film makers

A 30-minute film made by and starring young people from Folkestone and Boulogne headed the bill at the prestigious Boulogne Film Festival at the weekend.

The 14 young film makers were at the festival to see their film's premiere on Saturday evening (21 February)

Both Sides Story - loosely based on the West Side Story musical - was part of the Youth on Board video project which aims to help young people on both sides of the Channel - particularly those who have been excluded from school - gain new language skills and benefit from team-building as well as giving them a chance to pick up film making, editing and story board writing skills. It was shot in Folkestone and Boulogne and was presented in both English and French.

Frederic Cuvillier, mayor of Boulogne and MP, Mme Mireille Hingrez, elected member for young people in Boulogne and Severine Ernest, from the European Interreg programme, which helps fund cross-border projects, were among those who attended the festival and congratulated the young film makers.

Youth on Board is supported by Interreg funding, following a successful bid by BOSCO, the Boulogne, Shepway and Canterbury Co-operation Association, which has successfully secured more than £2m of Euro funding for a variety of projects.