THE LEGACY of a tragic young filmmaker is being kept alive by friends who are set to premiere the last film he ever made.

Middlesbrough’s Joseph Tan, 29, died after undergoing major surgery at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital in May 2009.

Mr Tan was a prolific filmmaker who suffered from the rare heart condition Tetralogy of Fallot. Before his death, he wrote, directed and starred in a number of productions.

At the time of his death, he had been working on a trilogy of short films with fellow Teesside filmmakers Paul Bittlestone and Jay Young which will now be shown to the public for the first time.

Mr Bittlestone said: “Before Joe died, he wanted to do this trilogy. This will be a tribute to him. Joe struggled with a lot and still managed to achieve so much. He had so much enthusiasm and never let obstacles get in his way. He was an inspiration and summed up the ethos of what local filmmaking should be about.”

Mr Tan’s ‘Question of Faith’ will be shown alongside Mr Young’s ‘House of Jack’ and Mr Bittlestone’s ‘Social’ at the ARC in Stockton on Saturday November 10. Tickets cost £3 and the screening will take place between 7pm and 9pm. A share of any profits will be donated to the Freeman Heart and Lung Transplant Association.

The friends also aim to shoot Mr Tan’s last script next year and are appealing for anyone who would like to be involved to contact them at paul@darkstonemedia.com.