A short film shot at the University of Chester has received the top award at a film festival. 

The film , 'Sutures', is set in a busy hospital ward where staff face procedural and ethical challenges.

Made in one continuous shot, filming took place over just one day at the Wheeler building's nursing simulation facilities and is the result of a collaboration between the Wrexham Academy of Screen Acting (WASA) and the University of Chester.

The project also received funding from the University's faculty of health, medicine and society. 

Crew members travelled to the One Shot Terrassa City of Film near Barcelona, where they were met with the award.

To their collective surprise and delight, the film, 'Sutures', beat more than 1,800 entries to be named the best one-shot film, with a top prize of €1,200. 

'Sutures' features actors from WASA, which was co-founded by former Coronation Street actor, Dean Fagan, who also starred in Gladiator II.

He said: "The film is about two nurses having to work together to get control of an urgent care ward.

"We wanted to create something the students could watch and learn from.

The prize money will go towards future film projects to give the actors more opportunities (Image via: The University of Chester))

"We had the idea that it would be like a hazard perception test so the nurses would make lots of mistakes and then overcome or fix those mistakes."  

Tracy Ross, Senior Lecturer in Nursing, executive produced and also appeared in the film.

She explained the decision to utilise the University's Wheeler building, and its facilities providing the film set.

She said: "It's a great opportunity to have collaboration between the University and WASA, but also it's educational for the students and highlights a really important message about organ donation.

"A lot of people don't know about the opt-out system, about seeking family support and letting their family know their wishes." 

Writer and director, Nate Reeves, added: "I'm a kidney transplant recipient, so I've spent, unfortunately, a fair amount of time in hospital.

"So me and my brother [Elliott] tried to tap into our experience when we were writing it.

"I used all that to try and create something that makes you really empathise with what the nurses are going through." 

The accolade is a tremendous boost to both WASA and the university, as Sutures co-producer, Dean Fagan, explained. 

The film is set in a busy hospital ward where staff face procedural and ethical challenges (Image via: The University of Chester))

 He said: "It goes towards our goals and mission of making North East Wales a creative hub.

"I want this to be the go-to place where everybody from all over the country comes to get things made and be educated in screen acting.

"This award shows we're on the right path to doing that."Gladiator II has made me more steadfast, using my experience to maximise those efforts to get that done. Working with Ridley Scott was amazing, a dream come true.

"You always learn from what you see, all the people you meet, and it helped growing that network, making the best things we possibly can and giving people those opportunities in the area." 

Nate added the One Shot Terrassa City of Film prize money would go into a pot for a future film project to 'give the actors more opportunities and keep the momentum going'.  

Click here for more information about studying Nursing at the University of Chester.