A CHARITY short film which was filmed in Addingham has been released. The short film, funded by SignHealth, is called The Test, and it aims to help inform young deaf people about making the right decisions around sexual health.

The film, which stars deaf actors Nadeem Islam, Mia Ward and Daryl Jackson, was made in sign language and shows a young deaf man having to make a decision about having a HIV test.

The film was produced, written and directed by Charlie Swinbourne of Eyewitness Media, a new production company he set up last summer. Swinbourne lives in Addingham and shot the film in the village just before Christmas.

He said: "It was a real community effort, everyone was so supportive. The social club gave us access to their snooker room for a key scene, and we filmed at Ginger Plum cafe on a Sunday morning, with a few extras from the village! The actors even stayed at the Craven Heifer Inn. I've always wanted to film in my home village and although it was hard work, we had a lot of fun."

Swinbourne hopes the film will have a big impact. "Unfortunately, due to communication barriers, a lot of young deaf people don't have a strong awareness of sex education and how to be safe, so I'm hoping the film will make a real impact. Making the film in sign language is so important because it means they can access the information in their own language."

To watch the film, go to: https://www.signhealth.org.uk/deaf-film-shows-importance-of-hiv-testing/

To find out more about Eyewitness Media, go to http://eyewitnessmedia.co.uk.