A short film made by Winchester students is set to premiere at a New York festival.

Children of the Valley, created by third-year film production students from the university, will be shown at the International Film Festival Manhattan.

The festival, taking place this month, has nominated the film for best student film and best ensemble acting.

The awards ceremony will be held on Friday, October 11, at 5pm EDT at the Look Dine-In Cinemas in Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. The filmmakers met a representative of the Manhattan festival at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Ben D said: "We spoke to a guy from Manhattan at a networking event who was interested in our film and gave us his card. I emailed him when we got home, and we ended up being chosen for the festival."

The 20-minute coming-of-age story, set in Benjamin Phillips' hometown of Abercarn in south Wales, is mostly told in flashback and features a cast of professional actors.

Benjamin wrote and directed the film, with Ben Dunks as producer, Ollie Trowern as director of photography, and Nathan Bloor as sound recordist and editor.

The rest of the crew included fellow students Samuel Hall, James Eddles, James Rouault, Riley King, and Shona Collins-Staig.

Filming began in February but was delayed due to Welsh weather, causing many outdoor scenes to be moved indoors.

Besides its international premiere in Manhattan, Children of the Valley is one of only 10 in its category selected for The Graddies, a film festival judged by industry professionals.

This will take place at The Vue in London’s White City on October 18.

Rob Ferrin, programme leader for film production at the University of Winchester, praised the students’ work, and said: "Children of The Valley is a true calling card that demonstrates the skills and dedication that Benjamin, Oliver, Nathan and Ben have for their work and craft as filmmakers."

The two Bens and Ollie have collaborated on several films during their three years at Winchester.

Benjamin said: "The Film Production course has given us the ability to meet all these brilliant people and make something that’s screening in Manhattan and London – it’s a bit mad and brilliant!"