Nothing unusual about that you might think – except that all the producers were under the age of 19 and the director himself was only 16 years old when he made the film!

Ashok Baker, who shot his movie 'Reflections' in between his GCSEs and A-Levels, is described as Britain's youngest feature film director.
Aged just 16, he wrote, directed and produced 'Reflections' under the
mentorship of Morecambe-based film company Workshop Productions.
Now the film is set to premiere at the Exposures Film Festival at the Cornerhouse, Manchester this November.

Ashok originally planned to shoot the film with a few friends on his camcorder over the summer.

A work experience placement at Workshop Productions led to him handing the script over for constructive criticism, but the calibre of the script and the performance of Ashok on the placement resulted in the production company offering to help Reflections get made at a professional level.

"Ashok has the ambition and drive that every successful filmmaker needs," said David T Guest of Workshop Productions.

"We believe that film and media should be made as accessible as possible to the people of Britain so the opportunity to work with Ashok was one we jumped at."

The 72-minute film was shot over two weeks in Blackpool for £20,000.

The timescale was tight but necessary due to the professional commitments of many of the cast and crew, some who had given up higher-paid jobs on the strength of the script and the winning personality of the Blackpool teen.

At the end of the two weeks 90 pages had been shot and 14 hours of footage had been captured for a total manpower time of 5,460 hours.

It was a massive undertaking only made possible by the people who worked on it.

Reflections focuses on the story of a Blackpool teen who, through a case of mistaken identity, becomes involved in the criminal underworld and ends up on the run from police.

On the surface it appears like a typical action film but Ashok had a deeper vision, one born from his own experience:
"I wanted to tell a story that looks at the idea that although we often look at what is in front of us, sometimes – we fail to see," he said.

"I know I've been misjudged in the past based on how I look and I wanted to show how this feels – from a teenage point of view."

And the young people of Blackpool represented by the Youth Opportunity backed him, to the tune of £5,000 to ensure the film got made.

Reflections will be the first feature film to be released through Regent Park Studios and Workshop Productions.

For more information visit www.regentparkstudios.com or www.workshop-productions.co.uk