WE'RE excited to present a worldwide online premiere of an award-winning short film shot in Blackburn, Hyndburn and Rossendale.

Film fans can view The Truants, a gritty and thought provoking 12-minute short below...

The film was directed by 22-year-old Aaron Dunleavy, who grew up in Galligreaves, and attended Darwen Vale High School and Blackburn College.

The story of two teenage boys who bunk off school with tragic results, has had more than 30 screenings around the world and won the 2016 Castellincorto Award for best short film voted by the official jury at the 29th Castellinaria International Film Festival in Switzerland, as well as an official selection at the BAFTA qualifying London Short Film Festival.

The film has also been screened in Italy and Poland and Mr Dunleavy plans to take the two young stars of the film down to the BFI Future Film Festival in London later this month.

The three leads are Jack Hartley, 22, from Burnley, 14-year-old Kallum Trueman and Leo Halstead, 13, who are both from Blackburn.

Mr Dunleavy said: “I’ve always had a fantastic relationship with the Lancashire Telegraph with my films over the past few years and the interest in my work has been really strong.

“I’m very excited to share the film locally first, as filming in and around my hometown and involving local people has always been one of the most important aspects for me.

“One of the most important methods I use in my filmmaking is improvisation; casting real young people with no previous acting experience and allowing them to take the story into their own hands without a script.”

Although the film has not yet been officially rated, parental discretion is advised for children under 15 as it contains mature themes including frequent strong language, occasional discriminatory language and distressing scenes.