UK Film Council chair Alan Parker and actors Dougray Scott and Olivia Williams were amongst the attendees at the First Light awards, the Film Council's National Lottery-funded programme for seven to 18 year olds.

Jury members including Pierce Brosnan, Kenneth Branagh, Ray Winstone, Christopher Eccleston and Samantha Morton awarded the prize for best live action drama/fiction to the Big State Theatre Company for Black Tiger.

Bristol's Knowle West Media Centre picked up the award for best film made by over 13s with Gearhead, while London-based Rapid Eye Movies took the prize for under 12s with Nobody Returns.

"If a kid's going to a multiplex and they're seeing all these films, they're observing someone else's work," said Parker. "With First Light they can actually do it for themselves, they can actually get involved and see that they too can also be creative."

Edinburgh's Young People Speak Out picked up the best horror award for Cry Wolf, with the prize for best animation going to the Leeds Animation Partnership for Spaced Out. Liverpool's Valley Community Theatre won best screenplay and Writing on the Wall, also from Liverpool, won best comedy. Cape Cornwall School won the best silent award with The Freak, while Milton Keynes' The Living Archive picked up the best documentary prize with Seeking.

"These films are a wonderful example of a positive payoff from Lottery investment," said culture minister Richard Caborn.