Louisa van Aeken (Lower Sixth) has won a commendation in 2017 Oxford University French Film Competition. The aim of the competition was to creatively re-work the ending of an existing film in fewer than 1500 words. She chose to write her ending as a screenplay.

‘After creating a mind-map of some possible different endings [to the film Microbe et Gasoil, a 2015 adventure film], I watched the rest of the film to ensure none of my ideas overlapped the real ending or undermined the creativity and flair needed for the competition. Several alterations later, I had made my plan and started to write the script. I focused heavily on trying to portray the characters in the most realistic and accurate way, incorporating my own thoughts and ideas, but not straying too far from the original work.

‘A few weeks later, I received the news that I had won a commendation for my work, which I was thrilled about, although it was really the experience which I had thoroughly enjoyed.’