Tim Wedgwood: Well it's always good to see someone making a success of their life, particularly when they are young and they're doing it with enthusiasm and through sheer hard work. But the problem for most of us when we want to start a business or get a project going is that we either have the ideas or the money, but never both. One person who has found himself in that boat is young award-winning film maker Andrew Davidson, the Film, Television and Radio Studies graduate from Staffordshire University is hoping to make his first feature film. It's a new musical comedy, virtually everything is in place except, guess what, yes, the funding. Andrew joins me now. Good morning to you.

Andrew Davidson: Good morning.

TW: Thanks for coming in. I'm very impressed, a student up and at 'em at 8.25 on a Sunday morning. This is very good. You clearly live for your art.

AD: And I walked.

TW: [laughs] And you walked in? Goodness me, even better than that. That's one better than me. Now you're described as 'award-winning', what have you won?

AD: I won the JVC Best Student Film Award of 2003, through the university for my second short film 'Autumn Heart'.

TW: Brilliant.

AD: Which did very well. They liked it a lot.

TW: So how long have you been making films? Was it just something that came along when you came to Staffordshire to do your degree?

AD: I came to the university specifically to study film-making, so I would have started in 2002. So since we started, February of next year, when we're actually planning to shoot 'The Musicals' would be our three year anniversary.

TW: Right. 'The Musicals' is your new venture?

AD: The feature film, yes.

TW: We were hearing earlier in the week on the show I do here on BBC Radio Stoke a little bit about it, but for those that perhaps missed it, it's a musical comedy and the Musicals is in the name of the featured family? Tell us a bit more about it.

AD: The family communicate through song, they don't speak to each other they sing conversations and the rest of the community they live in dislike them because of this. They are treated as outsiders and the film is about the growing love feelings between the daughter of the family and a young man from the community called Tim. And how that relationship could either unity the community or completely break it apart. Set against the backdrop of the world's greatest musician coming to town for a concert. Who everyone loves, but no one likes the family.

TW: So it's going to be completely made in North Staffordshire?

AD: Yes. Yes that's right.

TW: Everything from the casting presumably.

AD: Yep.

TW: Through to music and the filming.

AD: Yes, the music is being done by Steven Coltart who is still a Staffordshire University student, living in Stafford.

TW: Right. Now, you're not actually from this area are you?

AD: No. I live in London.

TW: And yet you choose to come back to this area to make all of your films. Why is that?

AD: I love the weather.

TW: [laughs] No, come on, really.

AD: I just like working in the area. It's a friendly area and there are so many different locations and feels within a very short radius. Whereas in London you've kind of got a big city, and then you go out the big city and you've just kind of got smaller big cities. Whereas here you've got the city and green areas and smaller cities and it's a lot of stuff in a close area and it's a great growing film industry here.

TW: You tend not to think of North Staffordshire as being the centre of the film industry in Britain, but you tend not to think of it being the centre of films that reach the big screen. What your hopes for this your first feature film? Who do you hope will see it?

AD: Everyone.

TW: And now realistically.

AD: People in a position to give the group of us money to carry on and make other films. Just people that will see the film and enjoy the film. I just want people to see it. Anyone to see it. Because it's a ... I think it's a really great film. It should be a lot of fun.

TW: How much are you hoping to make it for?

AD: We're hoping to make it for about £10,000. Which considering it's a feature length musical film is pretty cheap. For a feature. So we're trying to scale it down as far as we can go for an hour and a half film. 10,000 is what we're looking for.

TW: In terms of it's release where are you hoping it will be seen? Is it likely to just be shown in small provincial theatres or where?

AD: It's hard to say at this point. Because when we get the money together and we start sort of pushing it more we can go further with it. But the Odeon Cinema in Stoke-on-Trent is interested in having the premiere next summer so we'll hopefully put on a big event come next year.

TW: Wow. And of course of critics comes along to see that and they give you a glowing testimony it's the sort of thing that other distributors pick up from there.

AD: People read that and people go 'Oooooh, I'd like to see that and see what it's all about.'

TW: I suppose if you think of recent film successes like 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', 'Notting Hill' and those kinds of films - 'The Full Monty' even.

AD: It just takes that one person to say 'I like this' vocally and for everyone else to say 'Well, maybe we should check it out then.'

TW: If that were to happen, what would be the process. Presumably would the finished film that you put together get shown in it's entirety as it is or if more money was to become available because it was going on a greater release would you remake elements of it?

AD: I don't think I'd remake it. I've thought about this, that if it was successful and if someone gave me more money to remake the entire film would I do it. And I don't think I would because I would have sort of said what I wanted to say with the film and going back in would seem strange. But if there was a lot of interest we could do more things with it like we could do a big DVD release and things like that and make it's life last longer after the film is released.

TW: You bought in a CD of some of the music. You mentioned that the music has been commissioned locally too. What's this piece of music?

AD: This is the big song sung by the pop star at the end of the film and the idea with the pop star is that everyone loves him and his music sounds great but the words are just nonsense. So you've got the family that sing really great emotional songs - but nobody likes - and you got pop star who sings nonsense lyrics but everyone loves. So this is his big song.

TW: Which is called?

AD: Er... 'My Spleen Is Made Of Cheese.'

[song plays]

TW: Andrew, how many songs are there actually within the film?

AD: There are 14. And Steve has 'till Christmas to write and record them all.

TW: Goodness. And is he performing on all of these for the artists that will be playing the main characters?

AD: No. No, the characters themselves will... the actors will be performing.

TW: Right, so they've got to learn all these songs as well?

AD: Yes. And then the dances.

TW: Oh right. Okay. Sounds like a lavish production have you got all the cast and work force lined up?

AD: Most of the work force and we've started casting. We have the pop star is a local actor called Darren McAree who I've worked with on my other films.

TW: Right.

AD: It's a smaller part than he's had before but it's a really good part. We've got another local actor called Ben Brennan who's playing the main role of Tim, the love interest. But as for the family we've not yet cast them.

TW: So you're still looking for... I mean the North Staffordshire area has a rich heritage in musical theatre, so maybe there's some people out there listening this morning.

AD: If anyone's interested then go to our web site lastatak.com.

TW: And of course if someone is out there with some money?

AD: Oh definitely. I like money.

TW: [laughs] They'll want to know you're always spending it wisely though. Is that the same place for them to go.

AD: The web site has all the contact details.

TW: Good luck with it.

AD: Thank you very much.