Star-studded movie premieres, all red carpets, arc lights and stretch limos – been there, done it, got the T-shirt. But never, until this month, in Harrogate. Mr and Mrs Russell were there and so were the teenage directors in whose honour the premiere was being held – Tim Reynard and Ben Derrick. And we four plus 14 other stars all packed into the longest stretch limo I’ve seen outside Hollywood, pulsing with strobe lights and Robbie Williams videos.

True, it looked more like a Black Maria for transporting criminals than film stars, but then criminal offenders rarely alight at the local Odeon to be confronted by a barrage of media men and a host of cheering fans.

So who are Tim Reynard and Ben Derrick? To start with, those 14 unnamed actors star in Derrick’s Fashion Police or Reynard’s Denied. These are two films written and directed by the 16-year-olds, having their premieres in a glittering double bill.

As we were escorted through the 300 fans in the foyer, it was clear that Harrogate had more than its fair share of haute couture – the ladies looked stunning and their escorts elegant. The young lions – Ben, dapperly dressed, and Tim, hiply casual – were photographed from every angle, with the Mayor in full regalia. And everyone drank champagne, later Buck’s Fizz and finally orange juice. Then we all trooped in to see the movies.

Ben Derrick’s Fashion Police takes place in a dystopian future in which a Big Brother-type dictator controls the populace by means of a hypervigilant street patrol, videocasts on buildings and the threat of sedation, imprisonment and worse – all focusing on a rigorously enforced set of rules regarding fashion.

“Black does not go with brown,” Mr Manning intones, and his enforcing posse of women in black “yes, sir” him like well-oiled robots. Youngsters are stripped of their hoodies and jeans in the street and hauled off for reprogramming. The tale centres on the inevitable crisis when instinctive impulses towards self-expression emerge among the ranks of the indoctrinated.

The central figure of Mr Manning is authoritatively acted by the director (and writer) himself, Ben Derrick. The implicit comment on today’s surface-obsessed world is apparent. “Fashion has only one layer, but that layer is all. Adjust your clothing where appropriate.” Fashion Police is funny, menacing and strangely moving.

Timothy Reynard’s Denied is a complex thriller with tragic developments involving a young man, played by the talented and personable 17-year-old Andrew Dawson, whose mother’s death in hospital by an untested drug has been covered up by the drug developer behind the procedure, leaving the orphaned boy and his sister to expose the crime.

Their clandestine effort to rifle the files for proof goes awry – and the hit-and-run accident leaves the scientist’s 17-year-old daughter (played by the mesmerising Holly Mann) blinded. The scary events that follow lead to a truly tragic and explosive finale that had the audience close to tears. A tale of star-crossed lovers and good intentions gone wrong, Denied is gripping and mysterious.

The directors, who shared a childhood and assist on each other’s films, raised funds from the “Big Boost” National Lottery programme, North Yorkshire County Council and BSkyB’s Youth Action Awards. That they have produced, written and directed their own features, overseeing crews of 30 or more in locations from Yorkshire to Brittany, is miraculous.

Their films are imaginative explorations of ambitious themes. These are bold first efforts with gorgeous soundtracks by Andy Haines ( Denied) and Pascal van Stekelenburg, performed by the Harrogate Symphony Orchestra ( Fashion Police). Reynard and Derrick are poised individuals whose abilities to sustain such prodigious undertakings are most impressive. It’s impossible not to root for these young cineastes.

After the applause came the party, held in the mausoleum-like ballroom of an ancient grand hotel. Here we had the choice of 100 tables covered in starched white cloths – brazenly bare. We were meant to be celebrating, but for my own tastes, two essential ingredients were missing – plenty of free booze and a noisy band to dance to – though one forgets that for excited teens the buzz of celebrity is inebriation enough.

I was glad my personal limbo was broken when a couple of youthful enthusiasts, inspired by the event, came by to quiz me on how to create cinematic masterpieces of their own. And I was especially cheered by a chat with the local MP, Phil Willis, who had just come from Nottingham, where a ten-year-old schoolboy had screened for him a well-shot satire on the world of James Bond. But when Ben and Tim started showing “humorous” outtakes from their movies, it was time to bow out (backwards, so as not to offend).

Hooray for Harrogate. What a relief to see British movies that are not stuck in social provincialism. Hollywood, watch out!

— To see the trailers, visit www.deniedthemovie.com and vids.myspace.com/fashionpolice

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