Lights, camera action!

Fourteen young filmmakers from Toxteth have got their sights set on Cannes.

They have successfully applied for £10,000 in Youth Opportunities funding, allowing them to run their very own film academy in L8. The cash is paying for camera equipment, tripods and the rent of a building - and it's allowing their creative talents to flourish.

The young members of 'The Liverpool Film Academy' are about to set the cameras rolling on a series of films capturing life in Liverpool as the city celebrates its 800th birthday. They'll be working with organisations such as National Museums Liverpool and the North West Sound Archive, as well as local schools and residents.

By the end of the year, the filmmakers - some of them as young as 13 - hope to have a film worthy of entry in a national or international film festival.

The 'Liverpool Film Academy is being run by 13-18 year olds, out of community project, Toxteth TV. They are being supported by Toxteth TV Chief Executive, Ed Connole.

One of the project leaders is 13-year-old Jamillah Moore. She said: "We all love making films and we're really pleased to have this money - it will allow us to spend the next year concentrating on some great projects which tell the real story of Liverpool people."

They've already started work on a documentary about the Florence Institute or 'the Florrie' as it is affectionately known, a 19th century boys' club which for 100 years served the working and unemployed youth of the L8 area. The film will explore how the Florrie used to be, its years of neglect and the hopes for a brighter future for the significant building.

Jamillah is too young to know if her future career lies in Hollywood, but is enjoying every minute of being a filmmaker at present. She said: "At the moment, filmmaking is just my hobby, one of my passions. But in the future - who knows?!"