A DOCUMENTARY featuring the animation expertise of a North-East academic will make its regional debut next weekend.

Irene’s Ghost uses animation mixed with filmed footage to tell the story of director Iain Cunningham’s mother Irene, who died when he was just three years old.

Through interviews with Irene’s friends and family, the documentary pieces together fragments of the past to uncover a long held secret about her life and her battle with mental illness.

Northumbria University’s senior lecturer and award-winning animation director Ellie Land was asked to lead on the animation for the film.

She worked with a team of graduates at Teesside University’s animation studio to produce the animated scenes used throughout the film to tell Irene’s story.

Ms Land said: “Iain first contacted me about five years ago after seeing an animated film I had made called Centrefold and asked if I would be involved in Irene’s Ghost. Animation is integral to the film and he had a clear vision of the role it would play.

“Because much of the film was based on people’s memories of Irene, animation provided a way to portray these scenes in a sensitive and thought-provoking way, and to combine this with the filmed footage and interviews.

“Everyone involved in the film is very proud of the finished result and to see it being screened here in the North-East will be a wonderful moment.”

Ms Land has worked at Northumbria since 2009, combining her teaching with research in the field of animation and documentary.

In recent years she has directed a number of animated films focusing on issues such as health, body confidence, and mental illness, working with organisation such as the National Institute for Health Research and the Wellcome Trust.

After being asked to direct the animation for Irene’s Ghost, she teamed up with Siobhan Fenton, of Teesside University’s School of Computing and Digital Technologies.

Ms Land said: “We had around eight people working on the animation for the film, so it was a real team effort and great to see the creativity on show.”

The North-East premiere will be screened at the Tyneside Cinema on Saturday May 4.