A FILM produced by a former Burnley school pupil has scooped a prestigious award at the inaugural Manchester International Film Festival.

Former St Theodore’s pupil Martin Payne’s company Stick and Rudder Films, based in the UK and USA, entered its comedy ‘Caring for the Recently Deceased’ at the festival.

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It was nominated for four awards and won the audience award, for which people festival viewers ranked their favourites.

Father-of-two Martin, who now lives in Washington in the US, was executive producer of the 30-minute comedy, with his partner Henry Davies, who he has worked with for 25 years, director, writer and producer. Martin, who lived in Coal Clough Lane in Burnley and attended Nelson and Colne College, completed a degree at the University of Essex and a commission with the Royal Navy, flying helicopters with the Fleet Air Arm and US Air Force.

He said: “It was as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm that I met Henry Davies, who is now my partner in Stick and Rudder Films, and we started writing funny short plays, mainly just to keep us and others entertained.

“We knew that one day we would like to explore this further and, when the two families were away on holiday a few years ago, we decided to have a go at making films together.”

The film has already been shown at festivals throughout the world and has won a Jury Award at the USA Film Festival in Dallas and won best comedy and best supporting actor in St Tropez.

It is due to screened at the Central Florida Film Festival in September. Martin’s wife Lisa is a writer and she helped to write Caring for the Recently Deceased. Sue Johnston, famous for her parts in The Royle Family and Brookside, plays the role of Marjoram, a recent widow who has a life-changing experience when her useless husband returns from the grave.

Other actresses include Melanie Walters from Gavin and Stacey and Alex Ferns who starred in Joyeux Noël.