POWERFUL ancient stories that formed the basis of English law are being retold on film by North-East youngsters.

Pupils from ten schools in County Durham and Sunderland are putting the finishing touches to Exodus 20, a series of short films inspired by the Ten Commandments.

Newcastle production company Airship Films has been working with children aged from five to 15 on the project, which places the message of each Biblical commandment in a contemporary setting.

Writer and director Ian Cottage said: "The kids have done incredibly well and come up with some really good stories."

Each school was given one of the commandments and pupils worked with Tony Glover and Joy Sanders from Airship, to write a story based on their real-life experiences.

These were worked up into scripts by Mr Cottage and the youngsters have acted in the short films.

"The whole idea is that it is the kids' voices coming through," said Mr Cottage. "This is the first time some of them have talked about their experiences in front of other people." Exodus 20 will be premiered at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle on June 21, and a version is earmarked to be shown at the Cork Film Festival, in Ireland.

Published: 04/05/2004