A FILM about a soldier suffering PTSD after witnessing atrocities in Bosnia has won its Tavistock editor a prestigious Cannes film award.

Penitent, edited by 21-year-old Jordan Cottingham, is poised to hit the big time after scooping best editor, best feature film and best soundtrack at the most recent awards from the Cannes World Film Festival.

Falmouth University graduate Jordan is now hoping it will make the BAFTAs next year.

Jordan, who grew up in Tavistock and went to Tavistock College, was approached by director Martin Webster when in his first year studying television production at Falmouth University.

Martin, of Webster Productions, wanted someone to complete his half-finished film based on his own experiences as a soldier in Iraq, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. A lot of the filming, with actors who were themselves veterans, had already been done, but had lain dormant on Martin’s hard drive since 2015.

Jordan got a call from Martin out of the blue one day, while he was filming a university project.

‘He came to my university apartment and we had a conversation for a couple of hours about his experience and what he wanted from the film,’ he said. ‘We hit it off and the rest is history.’

Jordan worked on the film throughout his time at university, and, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, had more time to dedicate to it.

This included filming scenes in Falmouth, on the deserted streets at night during lockdown. And they also shot scenes on a film set recreating a bombed out house.

The film is about mental health and how war affects soldiers long after active service has finished.

Jordan used his editing to depict the emotional turmoil of lead character Lieutenant Kelly, played by actor Steven Kelly, as his horrific memories resurface.

Jordan said: ‘The story focuses around a UN officer who lets his men get into a sticky situation.

‘The soldiers who are in his team have seen the true horrors of war but being a naive young officer, he charges through. He effectively causes the deaths of all the soldiers, as Bosnian war criminals set up a “kill box” and brutally kill them.

‘It is not based on a true story. However it is based on descriptions of what Bosnian war criminals did at the time.’

He added that the film depicted the main character suffering PTSD ‘in a very naturalistic way’ drawing on the director Martin’s own experiences of suffering PTSD.

Jordan used editing to powerfully put across the mental state of the film’s main character. He says he learned an enormous amount.

‘You realise that if you hold on a shot too long or a shot for too short a time you will convey a totally different emotion to the viewer.

‘What this project has taught me is how to direct film. You are putting a story together from start to finish, understanding what is missing and how to put that across.’