FORMER Stroud High School pupil Charlotte Fantelli has dreamed of making films ever since she wrote her own scripts while still at school.

And on Tuesday her dream will become reality when her debut film Journey to Le Mans premieres at London’s Leicester Square.

It will also be screened in more than 50 Vue cinemas across the country.

The film is the inside story of a British team’s bid to win the Le Mans 24-hour race, the toughest and most famous endurance event in motorsport.

It has been held annually since 1923 and is the world’s oldest sports car race in endurance racing and is considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world.

Teams of drivers push themselves to the limits of physical and mental endurance, racing for more than 3,000 miles at speeds of more than 200mph.

Narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart, Journey to Le Mans follows motor racing organisation Jota Sport throughout the 2014 season.

Highlights include team leader Simon Dolan’s dramatic 200mph smash at Silverstone race course and the unexpected loss of their lead driver just two days before the big race at Le Mans.

The race where the team tasted glory for the first time.

But the story of how 30-year-old entrepreneur Charlotte, who grew up in Stroud, made the film is just as remarkable.

With no previous film-making experience, she successfully pitched the idea to investors, taught herself the art of producing and directing, raised almost £400,000 to make the film and persuaded some of the industry’s biggest names to work with her for no pay.

“I had to learn as I went along,” said Charlotte.

“It was sheer bloody-mindedness that got me through it.

“If I had known at the beginning what it would involve I would never have done it.

“But the secret was never compromising and doing everything I could to make people believe in the film as much as I did.”

Charlotte, who is married with a seven-year-old son, put every penny she had into the project and now she is set to earn her reward ITV4 will broadcast a 45-minute cut on Monday, November 24, the date the full-length film is released on DVD, and it will be screened by more than 50 TV stations overseas.

Charlotte’s company, Fantelli Productions, will keep 82 percent of the film’s profits, with the remainder going to investors, including camera operators and film-crew members. So far the film has gained raving reviews from the world of motorsport.