IT'S LIGHTS, camera, action for budding Totnes film-maker Ben Boyd-Taylor (pictured) when his film is shown at a prestigious national film festival this week.

The 15-year-old King Edward VI Community College student will have his short film, No Glory for Heroes, screened at the Co-operative Young Film Makers Festival, being held tomorrow and on Friday at Bradford's National Media Museum.

The film is about a soldier dealing with the traumas of war after leaving World War One trenches.

It stars Ben's dad Pete Taylor and friend Christopher Burnette.

Ben said the film was inspired by the BBC series The Great War and Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo.

Ben Said: "The idea of how wrong the injustice was really impacted on me and I felt it needed to be expressed.

"After going to a young people's screening I came up with the idea of doing a period drama on World War One, showing how it left a lot of people traumatised."

The film, which can be viewed on the Herald Express website at thisissouthdevon.co.uk, was made for Ben's media GCSE.

He is one of 13 students who completed the course in one year instead of two.

Ben is now studying for AS media studies a year early.

He said: "It was fun making the film. It was definitely worth working on the script and doing plenty of research, so when I got to the filming it was easier to film.

"My favourite processes were filming on location and editing.

"Although I directed, filmed and edited the film, it was a team effort."

Ben's sister composed the music.

The South Devon Railway in Buckfastleigh allowed the crew to film aboard one of its carriages and on the platform.

Ben said: "I will continue filmmaking and it is definitely what I want to pursue as a career."

Ben's film is one of 111 which will be shown over nine screenings throughout the two-day event.

Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis, who plays Neville Longbottom, will open this year's festival.