Bishop's Stortford teenage film-maker Matthew Goodeve turning professional heads with intriguing latest short movie

We all have brainstorms from time to time, but few of us can turn an idea in our heads into a thought-provoking movie.

Bishop's Stortford film-making student Matthew Goodeve is fast making a name for himself and his latest offering – a dark, intriguing short called The Soul Project – has again turned heads.

In 18-year-old Matthew's YouTube synopsis of the seven-minute 35-second film he describes a young girl living alone in a rusting van. Every day her mother leaves voice messages for her.

Where is she? Why is her daughter alone? Where's the father? The mother says it's a project to help her in the future. It's a soul-shattering, heartbreaking project, leading down a path of eternity.

Professional actor Jessica M Milford, who appeared in 2019 movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is the voice of "Maman".

The little girl "Baby Soul" is played by Stortford six-year-old Nola James, whose fledgling acting skills were obtained through Phil Dale's Phoenix Theatre School, which Matthew attended from the age of four.

Nola's role in the film came late as an original cast member, another professional actor, had to pull out at the last minute due to illness.

"The night before we were shooting he said he had Covid, so the film that you see was written in a few hours," said Matthew, of Gilbey Avenue.

He was pleased with the outcome. "It was very original and it was exactly what I want my work to be," he said.

His ability to attract pro actors for his work is due to a mixture of being up front and his growing, impressive body of work.

The teenager is becoming known for the intrigue in his movies. A previous offering was another thought-provoking short called A Pile of Red and that followed Ashes, a poignant piece on the coronavirus lockdown.

He says the inspiration behind the plots for his films comes from his vivid imagination.

"I do think about ideas [for movies] a lot," said Matthew. "When I'm walking to school or in my everyday life I have these brainstorms."

Now he is all set to embark on a new venture, having completed his A-levels at Saffron Walden County High School, by taking the next step to his dream career with an unconditional place at London South Bank University, studying film-making.

As for ambitions, Matthew is grounded enough to realise Hollywood is unlikely to come calling when he finishes his three-year degree, but he would love to have one of his films doing the rounds at a top festival.

In the meantime he is not resting on his laurels during the summer holidays as he has been asked by his old film studies teacher from school to work on a short film.

Check out Matthew's work on his YouTube channel.