PROPERTY entrepreneur turned film maker Robin Swailes is celebrating after one of his first productions won a top international award.

Mr Swailes shot Florence, a four-minute short film about a dyslexic girl’s struggle to come to terms with school and life at St Edward’s School, north Oxford, as part of his master of arts course at the London Film School.

Now the film has won the Short, International Graduate Student category at the Kidz Filmz awards, part of the Garden State Film Festival in New Jersey, America.

Mr Swailes said: “I’m really pleased as 40 films were nominated and it is great to have such recognition for one of my first films.”

Florence starred d’Overbroeck’s College pupils Amber Goodgame, 11, who took the title role, while 18-year-old Hannah Robinson played her older sister Lucy.

The film was inspired by the experiences of Mr Swailes’ own daughter, India, who is dyslexic, and he has also produced a story book to be issued with the DVD version.

Now Mr Swailes, who took up film making only recently on top of his work as property developer and director of Jericho estate agents North Oxford Property Services, has set up his own production business, The Film and Video Company.

His most recent production was a TV advert for a firm of lawyers which is running on ITV2 and Channel 4.