A short film made in Bradford, starring Kes actor Dai Bradley, has been selected for this year’s Leeds International Film Festival.

Ratzilla, inspired by real-life reports of a giant rat spotted on Bradford’s Ravenscliffe estate, made the final eight shorts out of 700 entries.

“This is a really big deal for us because it’s the largest UK film festival outside London and is a feeder festival for the Baftas,” says director Rad Miller.

“The film is also in the running for a Yorkshire Shorts Competition award along with seven other short films.”

The films will be screened at Hyde Park Picture House on Thursday, November 21 at 6.30pm.

Reports in the T&A gave Rad the idea for a story about a teenage boy who discovers a ‘monster rat’. The cast includes Bradford youngsters and locations included Goit Stock near Harden.

Dai Bradley, who plays an eccentric loner, says there are parallels with Kes, the film that shot him to fame as a teenage boy in the 1960s.

“Both films look at the way children are stigmatised,” he says. “Kes highlighted the way children were pigeon-holed at school, harnessed in terms of life choices.”

Supported by Bradford UNESCO City of Film, Ratzilla is produced by youth media production company Pocket Projects, run by Rad, which provides opportunities for young people to work in front of and behind the cameras.