Dudley acting duo mum and son hit Hollywood film festival

Reece said he enjoyed visiting Universal Studios and the beach while in LA

A mother and her son, 9, who have starred in a series of short films despite no formal acting training have returned from a Hollywood festival.

Rita and Reece, from Dudley in the West Midlands, starred in Wheel Gone Kid, the story of a computer game-obsessed boy that has won more than 30 awards.

The pair met producer Keith Large by chance during lockdown and have since appeared in more of his films.

Visiting Los Angeles was an amazing and magical experience, Rita said.

A follow up to Wheel Gone Kid - Wheel Gone Kid 3 1/2 Plane Stupid - was nominated for Best Comedy at the Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival in LA but missed out on winning, Mr Large said.

But another film he entered featuring Reece, called Twin Leaps, was successful in beating off more than 150 others, to win in the Best Producer for a Short Film category.

Wheel Gone Kid was filmed around Dudley during lockdown

Rita said she met Mr Large when she cut his hair at her salon and he went on to give Reece some extra tuition during lockdown.

As part of his learning, Mr Large wrote a script and discovered Reece was good at remembering lines.

He went on to develop the script and produced a short film starring Reece and his mother.

"He was looking for an actress for the mum role and he came across to me and said, 'Rita, why don't you just jump in a little bit until we find someone?', and that was it - that's where my acting career started," she said.

Visiting LA and attending various film events there was something she would never forget, Rita said

She said it was amazing to take part in filming although she admitted they were both very nervous.

"So everything we did was from the bottom of our hearts, to be honest," she said.

Visiting LA and attending various film events there is something they would never forget, she added.

"The best thing was seeing our film on the big screen in Hollywood and the audience just laughing along with our three short films that were entered," she said.