Two Birmingham schoolgirls rubbed shoulders with a host of celebrities at the star-studded red-carpet European premiere of Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.
Zara Rahim and Aanisah Sherbaz, both 14, from Hodge Hill Girls School, were invited to the event in London through their membership of FILMCLUB, the nationwide after-school initiative run by experts in films for young people.
The film’s stars including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jason Schwartzman and the director Edgar Wright were all at the glitzy event held at the Empire Cinema, in Leicester Square.
Aanisah said: "We were all very excited to walk down the red carpet. It was busy and so loud you could hardly hear yourself think. The atmosphere was just buzzing!
"There were so many people screaming, and it was amazing because when we walked onto the red carpet that was the time Michael Cera (who played Scott Pilgrim) was on too. We were so close to him!"
Zara described her experience on the red carpet as "an overwhelming experience”.
She added: “The movie is a brilliant concept. Something for everyone, as it covers such a wide range of genres from action and comedy to romance.”
FILMCLUB is a nationwide charity which offers school children the chance to journey through the world of film through weekly screenings, online reviewing and industry events.
Nearly 5,000 schools in the UK have joined the initiative, with more than 150,000 young people already benefiting from the exposure to inspirational films every week.
The Close Encounters programme was designed to lift the veil on the world of film-making, showing pupils that the world of cinema is within their reach, through in-school Q&A sessions, workshops, film screenings and set visits.
Zara and Aanisah are both members of Hodge Hill Girls School’s film club in Birmingham, where the club has been running since May 2009. The club has watched a variety of films including Fly Me To The Moon, Robots, Finding Nemo, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Grease, Happy Feet and Blizzard.
FILMCLUB is available free to state-schools in the UK. Any teacher, parent or pupil interested in setting up a film club in their school should visit www.filmclub.org/register or call a member of the schools team on 0207 288 4520.
A free induction session to join the scheme is taking place in Birmingham on September 17.
* Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is released in UK cinemas on 25th August 2010.
