YOUNG movie makers from Colne will see their first animation film screened when they attend the Co-operative Young Film-Makers Festival in Bradford on Friday.

A group of eight Year Seven pupils from Gibfield School, which caters for children with learning difficulties, spent a term of their Year Six working on their film 'The Monster' and were delighted when it was chosen from 220 productions to appear at the festival.

They will be among hundreds of young people from across the UK who will attend the two-day event at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television.

The story behind the film was the idea of pupil Alistair Berry. School chums Shajhat Akhlaq, Nathan Duckworth, Neil Gott, Lisa Mooney, Tony Nightingale, Jimmy Shaw and Anwar Hussain helped put the animation together.

Media studies teacher Chris Fairbairn said the children had worked hard on their film and were very excited about going to Bradford.

He said: "The lad who made up the story had great difficulty in speaking. He explained it to us as best he could and we interpreted it.

"The children made characters out of plasticine and animated the sequences themselves.

"We teach animation to all our pupils but this was the first time this group had done it.

"The project took a term's work to complete because although it is a very short film, it was a slow process.

"We did all the editing on computer, the pupils chose the music and selected who sounded best to do the voice overs. They also had a go behind the camera and as producer, in effect taking over from me.

"I thought there was a higher standard of work this year than last and the youngsters did really well to be accepted.

"They are very much looking forward to seeing their film on the big screen."

'The Monster' runs for around 45 seconds and will be one of 103 short films shown over the two days.

They will include drama, documentary, animation and comedy, as well as music videos.

Festival organiser Stephen Lewis said: "The talent of these young people and the commitment they have shown in making these films is incredible.

"The festival is a celebration of young people's ideas and creativity and in line with our co-operative principles there is no overall festival winner.

" We want everyone on the day to simply enjoy themselves and be proud of what they've achieved, not disappointed because they didn't come first."

Three classes from Gibfield submitted work and the school said it would carry on taking part in the festival to encourage the youngsters to function as a team.

Mr Fairbairn said: "It teaches them to co-operate with each other because, after all, you don't make a Hollywood blockbuster on your own.

"It gives them a lot of social skills, teaches patience and gets them to see a task through to the end. It also gives them the chance to do something and be successful at it.

"It would be nice to think that some of these youngsters might carry on with it in the future."