A scriptwriter from Newcastle has won the coveted Best European Film gong at a top Italian film festival. Although Martin Herron, 49, had always wanted to write screenplays, he only started doing it seriously ten years ago. Prior to this, he enjoyed a varied career in photography, filming and even a stint as a bus driver.

Martin had his first taste of success when he penned the 2004 film, School for Seduction. The film featured Brit actress Kelly Brook as a stunning Italian temptress who decides to set up an Academy of Seductive Arts in Newcastle to train Geordies in the art of seduction.

Martin won the prestigious film award for his latest movie, Irina Palm, which is a touching drama starring iconic 60s star Marianne Faithfull. The film snatched the title of Best European film from some high-profile competition, including Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, at the recent David di Donatello awards, which are generally regarded as the Italian version of the Oscars.

Irina Palm tells the story of 50-year-old widow Maggie, who is played by 60s star Marianne Faithfull. Maggie is desperately seeking money to fund life-saving treatment for her cancer-ridden grandson. In order to help save his life, Maggie finds herself working in Soho as a sex worker and she takes on the name of Irina Palm.

Although he has no children, Martin thinks that his film will appeal to many parents, as it raises the question of how far people will go to protect their children. Martin said: "It's a powerful question. Because of the delicate nature of the subject of the film, I thought it would be difficult telling my mother about it. But she said to me ‘mothers will do a lot more than that for their children'. And I thought then – the film will work."

Unlike his previous film, Martin's latest project is not set in the North East. However, he still gave Maggie's character roots in the North East, which he believes has an impact on her nature. He said: "She has this indomitable quality like many women in the North East." In addition to this, Martin said that he also sought lots of inspiration from the North East when he was writing this script. He said: "There's a scene in the film based on a shop I used to know when I was a kid. There was a shopkeeper and lots of gossipy old women in there, which was part of it."

Irina Palm, which has been co-produced by Newcastle-based Ipso Facto, has already been successfully release in the USA, France and Belgium. The film will be released at UK cinemas on June 21.