A NEW panoramic film which gives people a computer-generated experience of Plymouth's iconic Charles Church in its heyday will be part of a festival next week.

Wartime Wedding will be on show at the Innovation for the Creative Industries 360 Festival, which is taking place at the University of Plymouth and in the city centre.

HISTORY BROUGHT TO LIFE: The ruin of Charles Church is the setting for a panoramic film which recreates views the church in its heyday

The film is set on March 20, 1941, the day before the church was destroyed by fire after being bombed in the Second World War air raids.

It has been created by Polish student Karol Kwiatek, who gained a scholarship from the university in 2007 to study for a PhD in interactive 360 degree narratives.

The story is the wartime wedding of Ken and Phyllis Beer. Members of the audience can make decisions on whether to run away or to continue the ceremony when the blitz starts above the church.

Karol said: "My home town of Krakow did not suffer from bombing during the Second World War.

"I was intrigued by the ruined church and inspired to find out about its history."

Karol's supervisor, associate professor of ICCI, Martin Woolner, said: "Karol has proven to be an exemplary student. His research has contributed to the faculty and his willingness to support others has enabled quality work to be presented that would not have been possible without him."

Karol has also completed another project on Charles Causley, a poet from Launceston, which has created an interactive game to teach children about the poet's work and his home town.

As well as being awarded the Creative Award in the Business Ideas Challenge and organising a conference in August, he has also been shortlisted for a Vice-Chancellor's Enterprise Award in the postgraduate student of the year category at the university. The winners of that award will be announced on September 16.

Karol will now go on to present his research at a conference in Seoul next month. He will then run workshops for students in Hong Kong on the 360 degree screen.

The ICCI 360 Festival in Plymouth is looking to revive the 18th century tradition of the panorama and make it modern with high-definition projectors, digital surround sound and a 62-metre screen.

The festival will take place in the city centre Piazza between Monday, September 13 and Friday, September 18.