A NEWPORT lecturer is celebrating after scooping a coveted prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Florence Ayisi's feature-length documentary, Sisters In Law, won the Prix Art et Essai which is awarded for artistic merit and innovation.

The documentary was filmed over three months at a courthouse in Kumba, a small town in Cameroon, and follows various women who bring their cases before the court.

"It was beyond my wildest dreams to win this prize," said a delighted 42-year-old Florence, who was born in Cameroon but now lives in South Wales.

"I am very proud and touched that an international cinema organisation said this film is a work of high quality that deserves to be seen worldwide."

The film explores the work of two women in the Cameroon judiciary, a state prosecutor and magistrate, and follows four court cases involving women and young girls.

"Sisters in Law is about strong and positive images of women in Cameroon," said Florence, programme leader on the film and video course at the International Film School Wales (IFSW) at the University of Wales, Newport.

"It shows justice in action in modern Africa with women displaying courage, strength and determination to break away from their violent lives with the support of their sisters in the judicial system.

"The film reveals that beneath the stereotypes of Africa there are voices that can touch the global community. It's not about being African but about being human.

"The women in the film are refusing to be victims. They are finding the courage to be successful. The film is about strong women who are social reformers, changing society through a quiet revolution, delivering justice to women from rural areas who are suffering abuse."

Sisters in Law proved so popular that an extra screening was added to the bill at this year's French festival which attracted a host of star names including Scar-lett Johansson, Ewan McGregor and Sharon Stone.