Girl's grin gets the internet smiling

A comedy film made for £200 which stars a little girl who cannot stop grinning has become an internet sensation.

London film-makers Nick Scott and Michael Berliner tell the story of a bitter photographer determined to wipe the smiles off the children's faces at a school photography session.

But he is eventually won over by an irrepressible girl played by six-year-old Evie Joy Martin from Chelmsford. The two-minute film was shot in Croydon and the photographer is played by actor Jonathan Rhodes, who can be seen in the BBC2 comedy Life's Too Short tonight.

After the Vimeo video sharing site chose it as a "staff pick", interest exploded with everyone from Armando Iannucci to Stephen Fry tweeting their appreciation. Websites picked up on it, helping attract 800,000 viewings so far. They expect to reach one million hits very soon.

Scott, 35, said: "We wanted to make a film that was darkly funny." The aspiring director admitted showing "a little bit of hope" was more achievable on film than in his day job - as a government economics adviser.

Evie was a born star, he added. "She had this winning smile." Evie's mother Michelle said: "She really is a sunny-natured child."

School Portrait (2011) from Michael Berliner on Vimeo.