A JARRING film shot in Oxford and laying bare the impact of child sexual exploitation has received its first award ahead of a formal launch.

Seeing Grace follows the unwitting descent of a teenage girl into an underworld of prostitution and violence, with echoes of the Operation Bullfinch scandal – in which mainly Asian men sexually exploited young girls.

The final product has been named best narrative short by the London Monthly Film Festival, where it will be screened this October.

Director Mary Scott, who until last year lived in East Oxford, said: "We've had very good feedback from people and it has been a massive learning curve.

"We had to make quite a few changes here and there, and lost one of our cast members, but I am really pleased with how this came out."

Oxford theatre students and established actors feature in the film, which was shot in locations around the city including Blackbird Leys Park and cafes in Cowley Road.

A woman who worked with Thames Valley Police bringing child sex abusers to justice during Operation Bullfinch was consulted on the script.

Ms Scott began working on Seeing Grace in 2003 in its initial incarnation as a play and re-wrote it for the screen in 2008.

She said: "I did quite a lot of research and spoke to people over the years, hearing their stories and how they got trapped in some way or another.

"Young people are often vulnerable to exploitation because of the way our culture works.

"The vulnerable amongst us in terms of being groomed into exploitative situations, or actually being trafficked, is an ongoing theme. It never seems to go away."

Financial backing for Seeing Grace came from a range of organisations including City of Oxford College, Oxford University and Oxford City Council.

On January 26 this year cast, crew, family members and sponsors gathered for a 'soft launch' of the film before it is rolled out this autumn as an educational tool.

Seeing Grace will eventually be shown in schools as part of S.L.A.V.E., a 12-week programme for secondary schools currently being developed in Oxford.

It will cater for schoolchildren aged 13 and above and, through a series of interactive workshops, aims to improve youngsters' ability to avoid being manipulated.

The Seeing Grace script consultant, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "The project explores grooming and sexual exploitation.

"We show how biology, psychology and environmental factors determine how we form relationships, and what underpins our decision-making."

For more information on Seeing Grace visit seeinggrace.uk