A TEAM of English filmmakers are rubbing shoulders with the stars in Hollywood – thanks to a local brick company.

Stutterer, a heartfelt British drama produced by North Yorkshire filmmaker Serena Armitage, has been nominated for an Oscar, having been shortlisted in the Academy’s Short Film Live Action category.

And the team behind the 12-minute production have now flown to Los Angeles to prepare for the glitzy awards night on February 28 – courtesy of the Easingwold-based York Handmade Brick Company.

The movie, which has already won a number of top awards, was made by Bear Golly Films, comprising writer/director Benjamin Cleary, producer Shan Christopher Ogilvie and producer Serena Armitage, who comes from Nun Monkton, near Boroughbridge.

Produced on a shoestring budget of £5,000, it tells the story of the struggles a young man with a cruel speech impediment, but an eloquent inner voice and has been described as “a roller-coaster ride of joy, doubt and romance in the digital age.”

“We are absolutely astonished and overwhelmed by the success of Stutterer. The last six months have been absolutely extraordinary,” said Serena.

“I can't believe this little project we were sitting around a dinner table talking about, maybe throwing a few grand into, is now going to Hollywood. It has been an absolutely insane journey.”

She added: “It was a film we funded out of our own pockets so the assistance received from York Handmade Brick is going to make a big impact to our trip to LA and our capability to promote it.”

Mark Laksevics of York Handmade said: “Yorkshire has an illustrious history when it comes to film-making and Stutterer follows in this fine tradition.

“It won’t be cheap to promote the film for a month in Los Angeles, so we felt it appropriate to support Bear Golly Films and to fly the flag for Yorkshire in the heart of the global film industry.”

He added: “In November, we won a major award at the Brick Awards, the industry’s Oscars, so it would be tremendous if Stutterer completed a very memorable double in Hollywood. We have our fingers firmly crossed.”

In Stutterer Matthew Needham of Sherlock fame stars as the eponymous hero, alongside Chloe Pirrie, who featured in The Game and Eric Richard who was a regular in The Bill.

Serena Armitage has worked for ITV for 10 years, producing and directing some of the UK’s most popular television shows such as Come Dine with Me, Piers Morgan’s Life Stories and the BAFTA nominated TV series Paul O’Grady: For The Love of Dogs.