They are used to being written off as under-achievers, but one group of young people have proved their detractors wrong by making their own feature film. Nick Morrison reports.

WHEN the leaders at his youth group suggested a drama project, Paul Watson jumped at the chance. It wasn't because of his love of acting, though. He was just happy to have something to do, to keep him off the streets for a few hours more.

Growing up in one of the most deprived areas in the country, to have ambitions seemed to be missing the point. Already written off by much of the rest of society, he was on course to justify their verdict. Now, he is the star of a feature film and is thinking of a career in drama.

"On a usual Saturday we would go to the youth centre for two hours and then we would be left hanging around the street, but with drama it was about five hours," says Paul, 17. "It was a success from the beginning and everyone enjoyed it and kept coming.

"At first it was workshops: we were given a scenario and we would act it out, and everybody just got on with it. We had never been given the chance before, but it was really good and it gave us something to do."

Paul's introduction to drama was the result of a National Youth Theatre project on Teesside. This led to the creation of a theatre group at the Neighbourhood Centre in Grangetown, which evolved into the Coyote Youth Theatre.

Jackie Phillips, who runs the group, says they soon came up with the idea of making a short film, and when it came to finding a suitable subject, they didn't have far to look.

"We noticed there was an inordinate number of CCTV cameras around and we asked them what it was like to be under surveillance all the time, and that just developed into a film," she says.

Funded by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, this short film was finished in September 2002. But the group's ambitions did not stop there. The short became a pilot, and was shown to potential investors to raise money for a feature length version.

Writer Ian Dowson was drafted in to develop the script, extending the original idea. He enlisted Neil Marshall, director of Dog Soldiers and The Descent, who helped them turn it into a showreel to get more investors on board. The result is Sub Zero, a 70-minute feature with the 20 or so young people working alongside professional actors, cameramen and technicians.

A thriller set in Middlesbrough of the near future, it focuses on a mayoral candidate standing on a law and order ticket, who pledges to tag every young person with a surveillance bracelet. He is backed by a cabal of businessmen, who stand to make a fortune from sales of the bracelet, but his daughter falls in love with Paul's character and his efforts to stop the relationship spiral out of control.

"It would have been easy to make a piece of realism and kitchen sink drama," says Newcastle-based Ian. "But we set our expectations higher than that and made a film that the young people themselves might have sat down and watched.

"It is about the general atmosphere of Britain today, Big Brother and the policies of law and order. It is a Romeo and Juliet for the Asbo age."

Paul agrees that the subject matter struck a chord. "It is just everyday life," he says. "On every corner there are cameras and there are vans patrolling. We're all targeted because we're from Grangetown, they see that we're vulnerable.

"Even if we're just walking the streets the police will pull up and say, 'What are you up to?' They feel they've got the right because they're in uniform and they're in charge."

The 28-day shoot demanded a level of commitment from the young stars that some would have thought impossible. "We had to get up at 20 past four in the morning, but we just had to persevere," says Paul.

"What impressed everyone was how they went through the gears and developed a professional attitude for the shoot," adds Ian. "They were there on time, they knew their lines and they were often upstaging the professionals they were playing alongside."

Although filming was completed in summer 2004, they are still raising money to put the finishing touches and to promote the film, including persuading cinema managers to show it, with an expected premiere at the end of this month.

It has been shown to pupils at Paul's old school, Gillbrook Technology College in Eston. "You get the odd kid in class who takes the mickey, but my reply was, 'Can you do that?' It didn't bother me one bit," he says. "And I know we made an impact because a lot of people who saw it took drama because of it."

But the results of the project are not just visible in the film itself, says Jackie. "The great thing about this is how it has instilled confidence in young people," she says. "We have quite literally seen the Coyote members grow up." She says the support from the community, in everything from cooking breakfasts to allowing film crews into their homes, has been invaluable.

And it is not just about Grangetown, adds Ian. "I'm always driven by the fact that these art forms can be an alternative education to a group of young people," he says. "There is a whole group of underachieving kids, and things like film, creative writing and theatre can be a kind of education by stealth."

He says about five of the group have gone on to study drama or media-related subjects at college. "It comes down to one Saturday a week for them to be taken seriously and be listened to and do things for themselves," he says.

Since leaving school, Paul now works as a DJ, running mobile discos. He is thinking of a career in drama, but even if he doesn't do that, the impact of making a film will stay with him for some time.

"It has given me a start in life, and there is potential there to become professional," he says. "Most of all it has given me a great sense of achievement, because we have achieved a lot.

"A lot of people think people like us in Grangetown are low-lifes, we're not worth giving a chance and I think we have proved them wrong. It was the fact we actually got given a chance to do something.

"Without this I would probably be on the dole. My sister said if she hadn't gone into drama she would have been pregnant. Not one of us had a clue what we wanted in life, not one of us was even bothered, but drama came along and shook us up."