The toast of Cannes at just 18 - but British film-maker Jake Scott is too broke to go there

Jake, you might think, would be jumping with joy. But when the curtain goes up on his creation this week, one important figure will be missing from the audience – devastated Jake himself.

While his film plays, the stars sip champagne and the industry's wheelers and dealers strike multi-million-pound deals on the Cote d'Azur, Jake will be home alone and broke in his tiny flat because he can't afford to make the trip to Cannes.

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Yesterday, the heartbroken teenager confessed:

"I am a bit bitter and twisted about not being able to be there, but I'll just have to settle for knowing it's something I never even dreamed would actually happen and hope the right people see my film.

"I wouldn't dream of asking my parents for help," he added.

"I've thought of just catching a cheap flight to Nice and blagging it from there, but even as ingenious as I am, I think Cannes would be a tough nut to crack for a newcomer."

Jake made his black-and-white film, called Downright Disco, after splitting up with his girlfriend, Alice.

He hoped the 15-minute movie, based on the first and last days of their relationship, would "get things out of his system".

Jake shot the entire project himself over two days using a hand-held digital camera and available light.

On a whim he sent it to officials at Cannes – and was amazed when they loved it.

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Jake said: "You may as well start at the top and work down, but in Hollywood terms this isn't even a low-budget film, it's a no-budget film made possible by the help of others and a few hundred pounds I needed for equipment."

The remarkable story began when Jake, of Hastings, Sussex, fell in love with Alice when they were at sixth-form college in nearby Bexhill.

At the time he was living at home with his mother, who works for the probation service, and father, a science teacher.

"They thought I was too young to be in such an intense relationship, which created a lot of tension, and the only way she and I could be together was for me to leave home.

"It did create quite a fuss and, in hindsight, perhaps some of what they said makes sense.

"So the film is semi-biographical. I wouldn't say it was 100 per cent based on what actually happened, but it certainly deals with the feeling and emotions you have when you find yourself in a serious relationship at such a young age.

"It's much more light-hearted than my own experiences and deals with wanting to behave like an adult when you don't have the life history to be able to."

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Jake's passion for film started when he was eight and joined a photography club, which sparked what rapidly became an obsession with cameras.

By the time he was 11, he'd learned about everything from exposures to processing film.

He said: "When I was 13, I got into skateboarding and wasn't very good at it, but discovered I was quite good at filming while I was on the board, so I made a few short films which were shown around local cinemas."

That led to him being hired as a cameraman on corporate promotional videos – although he admits he lied about his age to get the jobs.

After school, Jake's parents urged him to try establishing contacts in the film business in London in the hope of landing a job as a runner with a small production company, but he decided to study film at university instead.

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He said: "The course didn't suit what I knew I wanted, so I quit, figuring if I worked hard enough I'd get a lot more experience than if I spent three years doing nothing but studying."

The gamble certainly seems to have paid off and this week his film will be showing at a cinema showcasing the work of new talent.

Jake said: "The film is based on something that actually happened to me, so it was horrible sometimes having to deal with a subject that was so close to me.

"But at the same time it felt amazing to put so much of me into a piece, and having it shown at Cannes just makes it all worthwhile."