A FILM producer has praised work in Northwich to create a cycling community for the future.

Stuart MacLean is co-producer of UK film Bicycle, which was shown in an unusual pedal powered screening at Mid Cheshire College to inspire media, sport and engineering students.

The project has been organised by Stewart Walsh, project officer for Sustrans, who set the engineering students off on a project to build the pedal powered cinema, sports students to provide the leg work to show the film and media students off on their own work to research and make short films about the history of the bike in mid Cheshire and the importance of active travel.

Stuart said: "I love what Stewart is doing.

"Most of the students involved in the project don't cycle but now they're thinking about cycling, asking questions about cycling and learning about it in a way that matters to them because they want a career in film or TV.

"They're asking questions, becoming curious and finding the information out for themselves.

"As young drivers they will appreciate cycling, which is as important as cycling itself.

"I genuinely believe it's a very effective way of changing the community long term to becoming a cycling community.

"It's also good for me as a producer to see what talent is out there – I'm fascinated to see what they come up with."

The 37-year-old, co-founder and executive and creative producer of production and entertainment company Same Old, said the aim of the film Bicycle was also to change attitudes but by appealing to the heart rather than the head.

"We want to get people talking positively about cycling and want to reach out to people who are curious about cycling but don't cycle.

"We want the immediate feeling straight after watching to be 'I want to ride my bike'.

"You will see, hear and smell things you don't notice if you're walking or running and we wanted that to resonate.

"The film itself, yes there's a political element to it.

"It acknowledges where we are today and wants to change things but it's a different approach to get that message across.

"There's already a lot of political angry films out there and we wanted to do it differently because anger doesn't create that personal connection.

"You're eased into it and almost everyone comes out feeling proud of being a cyclist or remembering fondly about when they learned to ride a bike.

"It makes them more conscious of cyclists every day."

For more information about Bicycle visit bicyclethefilm.com