Emmet, 16, Jenna, 14, and Brooke, 13, from the Wirral are filming The N.E.S.T. Project with a friend in the lead. The makers are aiming for Cannes in May 2027.

Three teenagers from the Wirral are part of the young cast of The N.E.S.T. Project, an independent post-apocalyptic feature film now shooting across the North West, and the people they are filming with include friends they train with every week.

Emmet, 16, Jenna, 14, and Brooke, 13, all from the Wirral, train at Majestic Academy of Performing Arts in Chester and are on the books of its agency, Majestic Talent. So is the film’s lead, 12-year-old Summer-Joules Saunders from Chester, who plays the central character, Elara.

The academy says the friendships came first and the film followed. “The children train together through Majestic Academy of Performing Arts in Chester and are on the talent books of Majestic Talent Agency and have developed genuine friendships through their training and their time on set,” said Joanne of the academy, who is also the film’s associate producer and casting director.

A man in a wide-brimmed hat and white T-shirt stands in front of a group of young cast members in grey costumes in a yard between old stone buildings, while someone films on a phone
The film's director, Szilárd Pusztai, with the young cast, recording a TikTok on set. Photo: supplied by Majestic Academy of Performing Arts

“The friendships you see between us are real”

Jenna described what the shoot has been like:

“I’ve absolutely loved filming The N.E.S.T. Project. It’s been such an amazing experience and I’ve learned so much from being on set. I’m really excited for our next filming days in October and can’t wait to get back.

“I think it’s quite rare to get the chance to work on a film with people who are already your friends in real life. I get to work alongside my friend Summer-Joules and other friends from Majestic Academy, where we all train together, and then we get to share the experience of being on a film set together too.

“It makes it even more special because the friendships you see between us are real. We support each other at the academy and on set, and I’m really thankful to have been given this opportunity. I can’t wait to see everyone again for our next filming days.”

Joanne said having familiar faces around the lead had shaped the set. “Having young performers around her whom she already knows, trains and has friendships with has created a lovely dynamic on set,” she said. “Equally, it has given our academy pupils the opportunity to experience a professional feature-film environment alongside somebody they already train with and know well.”

A girl in a grey beanie and scarf points into the distance on a stone stairway, with other young cast members in grey costumes behind her
A scene being filmed for The N.E.S.T. Project. Photo: supplied by Majestic Academy of Performing Arts

Crying on cue

Summer-Joules says the friendships make the scenes easier to play, and that she has been passing on some technique.

“What makes The N.E.S.T. Project even more special for me is having some of my real friends there with me. We train together at Majestic Academy and then we get to go onto a film set and work together too, which is quite rare. It’s really nice because we already know and trust each other and have lots of fun, so when we’re filming together the friendships feel natural because they are real friendships.

“I love seeing my friends getting these opportunities too and watching everyone grow in confidence on set. I loved teaching them how to cry on cue. We all support each other, just like we do at the academy.”

The academy says she has family and friends living on the Wirral, and that she has spent the past three months filming on location as Elara. She has also worked in voiceover, including for Disney and Netflix, and has been cast as the new voice of Littlefoot in a forthcoming remake of The Land Before Time, according to the press release.

“Playing Elara has been such an amazing experience and I feel really lucky to have been given the opportunity to play her,” she said. “She has so much to her character, and every time we film I feel like I discover something new about her.”

A girl in a khaki jacket screams in a dark forest as clawed hands reach towards her from both sides
A still from The N.E.S.T. Project. Photo: supplied by Majestic Academy of Performing Arts

What the film is about

The N.E.S.T. Project is set after a devastating collapse, in a society where an organisation called N.E.S.T. offers safety and the promise of a better future, though, in the release’s words, “beneath that promise, not everything is quite as it seems”. Elara is a young girl who starts to question what she has been told.

The director, Szilárd Pusztai, said: “Elara requires courage, vulnerability and emotional depth, and Summer-Joules has embraced every challenge with remarkable commitment and maturity.”

Filming is taking place at several locations, including Manchester, Chester and the Peak District. The team had looked at shooting at a church on the Wirral, but that plan has since changed, the academy says. The young cast are due back on set for more filming days in October, and the makers intend to take the film to Cannes in May 2027.

Head-and-shoulders portrait of a girl with long light-brown hair in a denim jacket against a blue background
Summer-Joules Saunders, who plays Elara. Photo: supplied by Majestic Academy of Performing Arts

The academy says all the parents have given consent for the photographs to be used.

If you train with a Wirral drama school or youth theatre and have landed a screen or stage role, email hello@wirralonline.co.uk and tell us about it.