A SELF-taught film-maker and animator has put Prudhoe on the international stage with an award nomination for one of his fan films.

Steven J R Lawson was recognised at the Fan Film Awards in California last weekend as one of the four finalists in the best director category for his fan film Freddy’s Nightmare.

The film, lasting a little over six minutes, is based on the Nightmare on Elm Street series, centering on the iconic Freddy Krueger character. Filmed in 2013, it was then reworked and edited last year to be submitted to the Fan Film Awards in August.

Steven said: “I came up with the idea of a short version of the nightmare series. I had Hallowe’en stuff left over, Freddy Krueger and that type of thing, and thought it would be a great idea for a story.

“It’s all locally shot. We shot it at the Fuse Media Centre at Prudhoe where we got permission to use the building for the day and shot it in about six hours – but it took me about three weeks to edit and pack it all together.

“Then for the final scenes we used the old Prudhoe High School building.”

The film features Steven’s brother, Graham Lawson, as Freddy and his niece, Megan Scott, as Nancy.

As a finalist, the film was screened as part of the Fan Film Festival at California’s Pasadena Central Library on Wednesday, February 8, before the awards ceremony on Friday, which he had live-streamed to him.

Although Steven, who works as a support worker, did not win the award, he said he was hugely proud to be nominated and get all the way to the finals.

He said: “It was a massive surprise to get through. It is something I have done in my spare time. I’m self-taught, which I think is important as it shows you can do this type of thing without a qualification.

“I want to get my work out there more, like at festivals and that sort of thing. This is the first one I’ve entered, but it definitely won’t be the last.

“It is my passion and I love it, so it is the dream to do it for a living.”

Freddy’s Nightmare can be viewed on YouTube