Ian McKellen stars in teenage director's film debut

A 14-year-old boy is due to make his directorial debut with a film starring Sir Ian McKellen.

Jacob, from Windsor, Berkshire, explores 1,000 years of gay history in his film, as well as what it is like to be part of the LGBTQ+ community today.

Dragged Through Time, which draws on his experiences as an openly gay young person, will be screened for the first time at Windsor and Eton Pride on 26 July.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Jacob said Sir Ian was "very easy to work with".

Jacob said he had been working with Windsor-based youth-led film project Notice Productions for about a year when he suggested to one of the coordinators, Brad Day, that they should make a film about gay issues.

"He [Mr Day], as a joke, tells me that I have to have a synopsis ready by the next day - and I take him seriously," said the young director.

"So I write this whole two-page thing, hand it in, it gets approved and I'm in utter shock."

Exploring LGBTG+ history was "really important" to him, said Jacob, adding: "While we have great films and TV shows now that focus on the present, I really think it's an important thing to focus on the past."

Dragged Through Time goes as far back as ancient Greece, he said. "It was quite an accepting place back then.

"Most of the Greek gods, while they may be fictional, had male lovers."

He described the genre of the film as "drama, in a way", explaining: "We have these dream sequences... that are different forms of theatre with drag queens played by me, which we had to make costumes for."

Sir Ian plays the role of Great Uncle Peter, a semi-closeted older relative of the film's main protagonist.

Jacob said they managed to secure the Hollywood star's involvement via Eton College's main film director Scott Handy.

The actor described the project as "a really inspiring thing to look at", said Jacob, adding that Sir Ian was very easy to work with".

Looking ahead to Windsor and Eton Pride, he said it would feel like "my community is moving closer to home".

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