Young Hearts Run Free

Andy Black as Mark Summers. Andy Black is in almost every scene of the film and has to take the movie on his shoulders; he handles it brilliantly and achieves the comedy and the heartbreaking emotional depths of the film. Andy grew up in a mining village so the film is very close to his heart. He has also appeared in the stage version of 'Billy Elliot' and is currently writing and starring in a play which takes place in an anarchist squat.

Jennifer Bryden as Sue Proudlock
Described by the Daily Telegraph' as 'terrific' and by all my mates as 'hot' and 'f****g lush!' Jennifer is gorgeous and her great talent and personal warmth really round-out the multi-dimensional character of Sue Proudlock.

Lyndsey Lennon as Claire Armstrong. Lyndsey is fantastic as lovely girl-next-door Claire and her intuitive reactions bring a great emotional range to the character and make everyone fall in love with her. Lyndsey as also done a load of aid work in Uganda; some people are just too lovely for words!

Andy Mark Simpson - Writer-Director and Producer.
That's me! In full 'indie auteur' pose in this photo. I grew up in a Northumbrian mining town so the setting and characters came to me very naturally and I became obsessed with making this film. It is my first film which meant funding was hard to come by so it is self-funded on a tiny budget but the determination of myself and cast and crew has seen it get national press attention and go on a unique cinema tour in the distribution methods I developed. Read more about it here. I also work in other roles in my community (such as helping kids from disadvantaged backgrounds) and this informs my social-realist films.