IN THE week that Hollywood rewarded a female film director with an Oscar for the first time, a former Stanwell pupil achieved success at the British Independent Film Awards. A short film produced by 22-year-old Emma Pratt, from Penarth, was judged ‘Best Student Film’ by the awards panel, with a ceremony due to take place in Bournemouth later this month. The film, ‘Brennan’s Sacrament’, on which Emma also worked as assistant director, is set in the near future and tells the story of Ray Brennan – an imprisoned political activist who plunges himself into a desperate fight to overthrow a religiously perverted prison manager and gain freedom. It had previously been judged ‘Highly Commended’ at the Ffresh Student Film Awards and was Emma’s final year project at the University of Wales in Newport. Emma’s success comes as Kathryn Bigelow scooped the best director Oscar for The Hurt Locker - becoming the first woman to receive an Academy Award in the category - and the ambitious Penarthian hopes to one day emulate Ms Bigelow’s success.

“I admire her determination and tenacity in 'hanging in there' in what is, sadly, still very much a male-driven industry,” said Emma.

“I can remember my careers advisor at secondary school telling me I was crazy to try and break into film if I wanted to do anything other than costume design or screenwriting.

“Hopefully this means other women in the industry will be getting recognised for their achievements as well, and that we'll reach a point that it won't be a huge deal if someone's a woman.

“Working on 'Brennan's Sacrament' was a huge challenge as we had a large international crew from Wales, England, Finland and Ireland - and a variety of locations,” she added.

“As producer and first assistant director it was my job to keep things running to schedule and on budget, and one of the hardest lessons was finding out that neither job really works if you're worried about winning friends!

"Generally I was the person telling everyone why what they want is too expensive, takes too long and won't work.

“It's not an especially glamorous or famous part of the industry - most people will want to be directors or cinematographers," said Emma.

“But I enjoy the challenge of striking a balance between what people want in an ideal world and what's practical.

“It's also really exciting being with a project from day one and seeing it evolve from an idea into a finished film.”

Following her graduation with a degree in Film and Video last summer, Emma has been employed by Tantummodo Ltd where she manages the Wing and a Prayer Studios.

Her mum, Sarah Pratt, said: “Emma’s father and I are extremely proud. “She worked very hard on this film and both she and the rest of her team thoroughly deserve this success.”