ONE of the High Street's most colourful characters spent three days representing Walthamstow Market at the Cannes Film Festival.

Frank Pittal, who has run a shoe stall in the High Street since 1992, was promoting a half-hour documentary called A Portrait of Walthamstow Market.

The film, which features interviews with shoppers and traders including Mr Pittal, is the directorial debut of Dominic Stinton, 29, who also travelled to Cannes.

The movie was one of hundreds featured in the festival's Short Film Corner.

Mr Pittal spent three days using his street trader skills in marketing the film to critics, film distributors, and television commissioners.

His work helped it climb to number 11 in the category's most-watched rankings.

Mr Pittal, a former arm-wrestling promoter, said: "The object of the exercise was for an East End barrow boy to go out to promote the movie, and it was extremely successful, because of the amount of people who went to see the film.

"Dominic could have chosen anyone, but I suppose I came across as one of the more larger-than-life characters, and he needed somebody out there with the patter and the talk.

"A whole lot more people know about it than before, and it's so important to promote London markets because if you lose them, you lose the heart of London."

There has been interest from several British television channels, along with stations from Poland, Japan and France.

Mr Pittal has been given exclusive rights to distribute it in Walthamstow, and expects to have DVD copies for sale at his stall on Saturday, priced £9.99.

The film will be paired with his video diary of the trip, a feature called Frankie Goes to Cannes.

There are also plans for a free screening in Waltham-stow later in the year.