FOR two financially challenged stay-at-home dads hoping to make their first film, the news that none other than Steven Spielberg was filming at one of their proposed locations came as a thunderbolt.

'The Moon Shines Bright', a 45-minute-long ghost story in the vein of M R James and other classic chillers, was to be filmed near the Dartmoor village of Sheepstor last week, but the famous American film-maker had other ideas. He had already chosen it as the setting for his new film, 'War Horse'.

North Petherwin-based co-director, Lawrence McNeela, said: "I felt like, if we had made this film anytime in the last fifty years there would have been no problem.

"It was just our luck that the summer we chose saw the greatest ever film-maker turn up to shoot his latest blockbuster."

His co-director Andy Baker commented: "I'd long had a ruined farmhouse on Dartmoor in mind, so to hear Spielberg was filming War Horse there was like a massive vindication of my choice of locations! But it was also a headache, having to find a fresh location on Dartmoor with just a few weeks before shooting began."

Fortunately, the gods smiled on the plucky local film-makers as they found somewhere even more suitable for setting their classic ghost story — Nun's Cross Farmhouse near Princetown. They were also blessed with the perfect weather; dry enough to make filming possible, but grey and cloudy to set the appropriate atmosphere for their tale.

That said, it was very cold for August and newcomer Emma MacNab had to suffer for her art.

"The poor girl was freezing cold in this little summer dress she had to wear," Lawrence added, "but she was a real trooper. I'm not sure she thought it at the time, but she's since told me that it being cold and wet made the setting more authentic. The prehistoric stone rows at Drizzlecombe wouldn't have looked right in dazzling warm sunshine."

The Moon Shines Bright now enters the post-production phase at Launceston's own M-Mad Studios. Indeed, without the help of this community media company, it could never have been made.

Andy, who is part of the team there, continued: "We'd really like to thank Krystyna and her partner Pete for their assistance. What would otherwise have been far beyond our reach financially was made possible thanks to their generosity. To have a professional sound engineer of Pete's quality on board has taken this film to another level."

With a premiere expected at the Cornish Film Festival in November, The Moon Shines Bright is hoped to reach as wide an audience as possible. The pair, who met at the Launceston Community Film Project, are already working on a script for their next film. They just hope Hollywood directors don't decide to turn up when they're due to shoot it.