The award-winning short film about child trafficking and the dark side of politics made by Anchorsholme director

The short film was written and directed by Brad James, of Neville Avenue, Anchorsholme, and scooped 14 awards at 11 different shows, including Best Short Film at the Milan Gold Awards, the Gladiator Film Festival, the Falcon International Film Festival, the Golden Wheat Awards, and the United Kingdom Student Film Festival.

It also won the award for Best Orchestral Score at the Milan Gold Awards and the New York Movie Awards, and Best Indie Film at the Hollywood Gold Awards, while Brad was awarded the Phil Méheux Award for Best Cinematographer at the National Youth Film Awards in December.

He said: “I feel very proud. It was such a stressful process and to come out of that with the awards is so gratifying. It shows that all our hard work is paying off. It’s a confirmation that we made something good, we pulled it off. When you put a lot of effort into something and you’re rewarded for it, it’s very inspiring.”

‘Forgotten’, which was filmed in London last year, stars Mark Carlisle as the corrupt Mayor Andrews, Ciara McIlvenna as detective Lisa Davies, Amelia Hampton-Williams as villainous party donor Sasha DuCann, and Alice Eleanor Matthews as Helen Roberts, the mayor’s assistant who becomes suspicious of her boss’ mysterious meetings. Charlie Hepstinstall and Indy Reigo play Caleb and Jay, two low-ranking members of the human trafficking ring, and Gabrielle Fernandez and Lauren Stokes play Angelica and Nancy, victims of the conspiracy.

Brad, who attended Blackpool Sixth Form before studying at the Westminster Film School in London, said: “While we were filming, the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell case was very prominent in the news. One of the things I like to do with my films is give them some cultural context, and that was how we approached it, coming up with the story of the London mayor taking young girls to party donors to fund his election.

“Before I went to college, my goal in life was to be a musician. I played guitar and I wanted to play for big bands on tour. I always put off watching films. I put it off and put it off, and one day my brother finally showed me a Robert Rodriguez movie, and it captured my imagination. I saw how the music I was composing could be visualised.”

Following the release of Forgotten, Brad has written and directed another short film, Redcoat, a period drama set in Napoleon’s France, filmed in Blackpool and Lytham.

He plans to begin his first feature-length film, Midnight in Sicily, in 2024. The story follows a young woman who moves from New York to rural Italy, where she attempts to revive her family’s failing vinyard following the death of her father.

Brad said: "My own father passed away four years ago, and I wanted to put what I was feeling into something. Really, it’s just about getting my stories out there. A lot of what I went through after my dad died made its way into the script, covering these different areas, not just grief but all the other emotions people have after losing a loved one. I want to reach out to people, and if it gets an emotional reaction that’s the cherry on top.”

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