Kayleigh’s film is up for top award
A SHORT film produced by Leicestershire Police and a Loughborough company, warning children and parents about the dangers of online grooming, has been shortlisted for another national award.
A total of 57 films have made the shortlist of the EVCOM Screen Awards, with the winners to be announced at a ceremony being held at BAFTA on June 23. Made by the force’s communications and engagement directorate in association with Affixxius Films of Lough- borough, Kayleigh’s Love Story has already won three awards including Gold awards from The Royal Television Society and from DRUM.
The five-minute film tells the story of Measham schoolgirl 15-year-old Kayleigh Haywood who was groomed online over a period of 13 days in November 2015 by 27-yearold Ibstock resident Luke Harlow, a man she had never met.
She eventually agreed to spend the night at his house, having been persuaded by him to tell her parents she was staying with a school friend. The following evening, they were joined by Harlow’s neighbour Stephen Badman, 28, and the pair held the schoolgirl against her will.
In the early hours of the following morning, as she attempted to escape from Harlow’s house, Kayleigh was raped and murdered by Beadman.
The force’s communications director Matt Tapp said: “It’s very humbling that the film has been shortlisted for another award. And whilst I believe these awards and nominations acknowledge the skill, expertise and sensitivity brought to its production, what matters most is that the messages the film contains are heard and seen by as many people as possible in order to protect children from online harm.”
Since the original English language version of the film was launched online in January this year, it has been seen by an estimated worldwide audience of 35 million people.
As well as versions which are signed and audio described, there are also versions of the film in Polish, Hindi, Guajarati, Urdu, Punjabi and French.
This week, a Welsh version of the film has also been produced and is currently being publicised in Wales.