Film-makers Reza Ghadiri and Daniel Mendelle

Business editor RON GODFREY meets two young men heading for the stars...

FILM-makers Reza Ghadiri and Daniel Mendelle know officially why overnight they have become North Yorkshire's top "Livewires" sharing first prize of £750.

The two graduate pals from the University of York who started up their own movie company, Blind Productions, earned the Shell-sponsored accolade because they "fused creativity with modern technology and provided a viable service for businesses".

But never mind the business-babble: the true reason why last week they beat other North Yorkshire young entrepreneurs under the Princes Trust scheme to represent North Yorkshire in the "Livewire" North of England regional finals in Wakefield on April 6 is clear. They are people who know how to build real stairways to their dreams.

Reza, who graduated in history, and Daniel, in English and politics, realised that if they were going to be seriously creative they had to concentrate also on bread and butter projects.

The duo began their film, video and multi-media production outfit at the Fishergate Centre, York, last August with a £4,000 loan from the Prince's Youth Trust. Since then they have created a huge body of commercial work and at the same time proved themselves good enough to attract the interest not only of firms looking for corporate videos but some of the big movie moguls too.

One of those dreams was first nurtured by 21-year-old Daniel who has a serious talent for both writing and directing. He penned a psychological horror-plot, Fell On Black Days. The script caught the eye of top London entertainment lawyers Hartbottle & Lewis which has been offering free advice and contacts, but it also wowed the ones who count: People with real lolly to invest.

Even at pre-production stage one anonymous "business angel", has backed the feature film with a promise of £500,000, towards the £3 million projected costs, inspired no doubt by that other low-budget cult horror movie turned mainstream film circuit blockbuster, the Blair Witch Project.

Now the two young men have the task of raising the balance and Reza, 22, whose talent lies in production, believes that in York and North Yorkshire there are big enough companies to attract real commercial backing given tax relief for film investment under the Government's Enterprise Investment Scheme. "We're in a position now to implement our marketing strategy," he says.

In other words, big corporations, stand by your wallets, because here they come...

For the moment, beyond revealing that Fell on Black Days involves a student in York, two murders and, cryptically, "an exercise in discomfort", Reza stays tight-lipped about Daniel's plot. Still, backers will be able to view an impressive portfolio demonstrating their film-making talents.

For instance, there is also Style, a 20-minute film directed by Ross Adam with dialogue by Daniel in which a drug-dealing photographer, played by York University student Rob Canon, is stalked by an anonymous group of blackmailers (and both Daniel and Reza appear Hitchcock-like as cameo actors). It will be showcased at the University of York on Saturday, May 6, they plan to screen it at Leeds film festival next autumn and they are submitting it to Channel 4.

A Renault dealership in Burnley commissioned them to film a "five-point walk" - standard sales pitch showing five favourable points about the car for inclusion on its website.

The Internet plays a big part in their plans. For instance they are setting up film prototypes for different industries such as a virtual tour of top properties, including voice over for use on estate agents' websites. Ditto the travel industry where holiday web browsers can view a tour of a holiday hotel before deciding to book it.

Then there is the Internet doc-u-soap. Reza says: "We filmed our own real life soap opera right here on our doorstep, following the fortunes and sometimes misfortunes of other Princes Trust ventures based at the Fishergate Centre. We will broadcast it on a regular basis once we've set up our own website.

"If we attract a large number of hits then maybe potential advertisers will sit up and take notice.

"Eventually we hope it will generate enough finance to develop an interactive soap opera. The charm of this, is that there is no determinism. As the website viewer you can make your own decisions on how you want the plot to develop.

"After a lover's tiff the action can be stopped. Will he apologise to her? If so, here's how it continues. Will he dump her? If so, view on..."

The two have also secured promotional and art work for York band, Tung. They designed the inlay for their CD, their posters and now plan a video.

Reza who hopes to be in a position to harness his own dream - to film a documentary in Iran, which he left aged eight - says: "We are investing in ideas at this stage for the future. The payback is imminent."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.