A UNIVERSITY student has become the youngest director in the world to have his film launch on SkyBox Office and Amazon.

Elliott Hasler, from Brighton, was 14 when he wrote World War II: The Long Walk Home.

It took three years – but Elliot had finished it before he was even old enough to drive.

Now 20, the Exeter University student’s feature film is about to launch on Sky Box Office and Amazon.

The achievement means he is the first film director born after the year 2000 to showcase a film on the platforms.

Elliott said he first became inspired to make films at just ten years old when he took part in a school project at his school, St Andrew’s Primary in Hove.

He said: “There was a school project where there was a week without lessons and instead we made a film, that was really my first experience making a movie and the work that goes into it and I just fell in love.

“I then started making little films on my own which gradually grew bigger and better and at 14 I decided I’d make a feature.”

Eliott’s parents put a ban on him filming for eight months to ensure he completed his GSCEs.

In World War II: The Long Walk Home, Elliott, who has never been to film school, tells the story of escaped prisoner of war Charlie Standing and his journey through war-torn Italy.

As Charlie travels through the bleak Italian countryside, slowly making his way towards Rome with the help of people he encounters on the way, his wife Tup keeps the home fires burning.

When the letters from her husband stop coming, she has to deal with her fears – and temptation in the form of a handsome Canadian airman.

The film was screened at Edinburgh, Brighton and Berlin Festivals and now gets a home entertainment release through 101 Films International.

Elliott said: “I’ve never been to film school but making WWII: The Long Road Home was very much my film school. The three years I spent working on that film taught me invaluable lessons about the movie-making process across all aspects, from scripting to directing to editing.

“Obviously, this is ongoing learning and adapting process with each movie made, moving you up to another level of understanding and skill.”

The film will be launching on DVD, on Sky Box Office and Amazon on October 26.