FILM producer Jackie Sheppard journeyed across Africa to make a movie about three Rwandan children trekking to the opening ceremony of this year’s football World Cup.

Ms Sheppard, from Didcot, hopes the film, called Africa United, will score with all cinema-goers.

And the Comic Relief charity is managing a fund to channel some of the profits from the film back to Africa.

Ms Sheppard who has lived in Didcot since 1994, recently attended the world premiere of the movie at the Toronto Film Festival, in Canada, where it received a standing ovation.

She is now looking forward to the British premiere at the Odeon cinema in London’s Leicester Square, on October 17, before the film goes on general release. Ms Sheppard said: “The film really seems to have struck a chord with people, because it’s the right mix of fun and adventure and it doesn’t shy away from some of the issues about Africa.

“Two of the children who start the journey in Rwanda are Aids orphans and there is a child soldier and a sex worker.

“This is the biggest film I have ever made.

“I have gone from making short films costing £12,000 to this one, which has a budget of £4m. We started shooting in February and finished two months later.

“It was fantastic working with the child actors.

“It’s an uplifting story but I can’t promise that people won’t cry when they see it.”

Africa United tells the story of a boy called Dudu, his sister Beatrice and his friend Fabrice, who embark on a 3,000-mile journey across seven African countries to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup in the South African city of Johannesburg.

Along the way they make new friends and are forced to face up to issues such as Aids and child prostitution.

Ms Sheppard, who runs Footprint Films with Mark Blaney, said the film was part-financed by Slumdog Millionaire distributors Pathé, with support from BBC Films, the UK Film Council and the Rwandan Film Commission.

It was shot in Rwanda, Burundi and South Africa.

The movie was the idea of Rwandan film-maker Eric Kabera, whose previous credits include the 2001 drama 100 Days about the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk For more details of the film and to watch a clip, see africa unitedmovie.com