AN ASPIRING director is hoping people will get behind his recent project and help him raise the last money needed to complete his film.

John Layton, from Warndon Villages in Worcester, gave up his job working in computer forensics with West Mercia Police a year ago to move to London to study digital film production.

As part of his course, John has to make a short film, but he wanted the film to go beyond a "typical" low-budget student film.

"The film, Brot, is about two young brothers who escape a concentration camp and survive in the surrounding woodlands until the older brother is forced to decide whether their best chance of survival is to return to the camp," the 28-year-old said.

"I and producer Jared Peysner really wanted to make an inspiring and purposeful film which could teach people about the Holocaust. It is actually inspired by the true story of a man Jared knows.

"Jared is Jewish, and we realised that education in schools around the UK and the world about the Holocaust is not substantial enough. A lot of the younger generation are getting their education about what happened from films. We decided that since this is the case, we want to make a film that helps inspire people to become pro-active in learning about the Holocaust.

"But we wanted it to look as professional as possible. So far we've put about £4,000 of our own money in to it, and a reenactment company in Portsmouth have matched that in terms of supplying us with costumes and equipment. But we are really low on funds now and need around £2,000 more to spend on post-production before we submit the film in May."

To make the film look as professional as possible, John is using the same cameras which many Hollywood movies are filmed on.

"The camera costs around £40,000 but our university has two of them, so I'm being extremely careful with it," he said.

"But we've put so much work in that we really want it to be something special. I've written then re-written the script several times, and we've built some amazing sets for the concentration camp. I've been reading books, watching documentaries and just generally obsessing over details because I want it to look as realistic as possible.

"We hope to enter the film in to various competitions and festivals, and then release it on the internet. We are very excited about it."

To help them raise the last funds needed to complete the film, visit www.indiegogo.com/projects/brot-short-film.

For more information on the film, see www.facebook.com/brotfilm.