An aspiring filmmaker whose work made it through to the final round of a national film festival is working on a new short film which he hopes will scoop him the winning prize.

Danny Cotton, 26, who lives in Thurlby Road, Bowthorpe, made it through to the final round of the British Horror Film Festival with his short movie, The Darksiders, in October this year.

Mr Cotton said: 'It was the first thing I ever wrote. We filmed it on a really low budget and used actors from the Maddermarket Theatre.

'I just took the decision to see what would happen if we entered it into a festival. It was a thriller/horror.

'I thought we hadn't made it through but then I found out we had made it to the final round which gave me a confidence boost.'

The 10 minute short was filmed around Norwich and Great Yarmouth.

Mr Cotton, who attended Costessey High School and City College Norwich, started his production company, Dr Sarcastic Pictures, two years ago.

He is now working on Tell, another short film which he plans to enter into the festival again next year.

Friends of Dr Sarcastic Pictures donated the �800 budget for the film, which he will start filming in April.

Mr Cotton left university in Farnham after one year to pursue his dream career of starting a film making company.

He said: 'I feel it was a good decision to leave uni. I wanted to have my own name and business.'

He is working part time building bikes at a toy shop in Norwich to fund his passion.

'A lot of people are involved in Dr Sarcastic Pictures - some have full time jobs. I am hoping that it will become a full time job for me one day.'

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PANEL

Tell is a short film about a group of people who gather in the woodlands to tell a story about a farmer who killed his wife.

However, unbeknown to the storytellers, the killer is still on the loose - and he is out to get them.

One by one, they are tortured in different ways before the film reaches a thrilling climax at the end.