A secluded street of back-to-back Victorian terraced houses in East Oxford captured the glamour of a movie set in a day of fame for a 12-year-old.

Olivia Frazer-Smith, from Navigation Way, North Oxford, won a competition to become guest assistant director for the day for a Dutch independent production company filming Oxford author Philip Pullman's bestseller The Butterfly Tattoo.

The screen adaptation is directed by Phil Hawkins, who made it through to Steven Spielberg's On the Lot reality show in search for new director talent.

Mr Hawkins believes they could have found a rising talent in Olivia, who impressed the company with her written entry on how she would direct a street scene.

On Saturday Olivia sat alongside Mr Hawkins as scenes were shot in St Mary's Road of the two main characters Chris and Jenny.

An end-of-terrace house was transformed into a squat with windows boarded up by graffiti-plastered wood.

During a break in filming, Olivia, a pupil at Leckford Place School, Oxford, said: "It's hard work and you have to concentrate but I enjoyed every minute.

"It has given me a great insight into how a film is put together. There is so much work behind the scenes that people do not appreciate. I would like to get some more experience on directing but my main aim is to become an actress and appear in films."

Mr Hawkins said: "We were impressed with Olivia's written entry. She showed an understanding of directing and proved it when she helped on the set. We could be seeing more of Olivia in the future."

The project was granted the rights from Philip Pullman because of its young and ambitious producers and their plan to provide an educational perspective.

Mr Hawkins described The Butterfly Tattoo as a modern day Romeo and Juliet.

He said: "It's a romantic thriller and has all the ingredients that most people like in a film - romance, intrigue, thrills and action."

Filming in and around Oxford has been going on for four weeks and the company has another three weeks before post production work gets under way. The company plans to enter The Butterfly Tattoo in the Cannes Film Festival.