An aspiring movie director has moved a step closer to achieving his big screen dream after his first film won international honours - thanks to an Oxfordshire schoolgirl.

Tomboy, a film made by David Whitehead at his old school, Marlborough School, in Woodstock, took an award at the Young Cuts Film Festival, held in Montreal, Canada.

Two Marlborough School pupils - Warren Johnston and Ellie Robbins - played the lead roles in the film and it was Ellie's acting prowess which earned the film its accolade, when she was named the Young Cuts Best Actress.

Mr Whitehead, who grew up in Bladon but now lives in London, said: "It's great news, I was extremely happy to hear about this and it's obviously brilliant for Ellie."

Ellie, from Yarnton, said: "I'm really happy and I'm excited to think about what I might do next."

The 15-year-old, who has appeared in shows at Oxford's New Theatre and Oxford Playhouse, added: "I would love to be an actress when I'm older or have a career singing and dancing, so this is a good first step."

Tomboy, which was made last autumn, formed part of Mr Whitehead's final year project for his MA course at the London Film School. He has since graduated and is working on a number of new ventures.

He has recently returned from a conference called A Fistful of Euros, which saw film school graduates from Europe come together to work on their first feature films.

Mr Whitehead, 24, is developing a thriller called The Night Train. Mike Figgis, the director of hit films including Leaving Las Vegas, has given him some pointers on the script.

He said: "It was really useful to receive advice and tips from someone like that.

"This is my next big project and I'm looking forward to being able to take it to production companies."

He has also been working on a BBC Four documentary called Drivetime and shooting music videos for boy band McFly.

He said: "It's been an interesting and exciting time."