An animation that was first shown as part of Big Events series by Watford Borough Council is up for a prestigious award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

The seven-minute Homeward Bound feature was projected onto the outside of Jackson Jewellers in The Parade for people to watch for free over the course of four nights in January.

Scriptwriter Sarah Woolner, who with two others won last year’s Best British Short Animation BAFTA for Sleeping with the Fishes, wrote Homeward Bound especially for Watford. She was brought to the town centre by Watford film-makers Shaun Clark and Kim Noce from Mew Lab – themselves nominated for a BAFTA for their past works.

Homeward Bound has been reformatted and renamed The evening her mind jumped out of her head, and will be shown as part of the prestigious film festival on Wednesday, June 24. It will now go up against other animated British short films competing for the prestigious McLaren Award. The winner will be decided by the audience over the course of two days of screenings.

The film is about a serious woman who lightens up during a train journey when her mind jumps out of her head and goes off to explore the countryside. The exciting and family-friendly animation took about five months to make.

Elected Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill says: “This is great news for Watford. We are proud to support exciting, emerging home-grown talent from our own town, and enhance our image as a vibrant, family-friendly place to live.”

Shaun says: “It’s good to have the council completely on board with creating all these Big Events in the town centre, which I think everyone’s benefitting from. I remember during the screening of Homeward Bound the town centre was absolutely packed with people enjoying the event and shopping and getting the most out of Watford itself.”

Watford’s Big Events series is now in its second year. The cultural programme of events aims to maximise the use of The Parade event spaces, which have been significantly improved by the council for businesses, residents and visitors.