A drama-documentary about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar, filmed on the estate where she lived, is to be screened at a New York film festival later this month.

The film blends excerpts from Andrea’s first play, The Arbor, with actors lip-synching to audio interviews with her relatives, friends and neighbours.

Filming took place last autumn at Buttershaw estate, inspiration for The Arbor which Andrea wrote aged 15. The largely autobiographical play focuses on a pregnant teenager’s relationship with her Pakistani boyfriend and alcoholic father.

Scenes from the play were filmed outdoors and inside houses on the real Arbor, an area of the estate where Andrea grew up, and some people who live there were given roles. The main cast includes Jimi Mistry, Danny Webb, Christine Bottomley, Neil Dudgeon and Bradford actress Natalie Gavin.

Interwoven with the scenes are interviews conducted by director Clio Barnard over two years. Included are interviews with Andrea’s children, including her daughter Lorraine who is serving a prison sentence for drugs-related offences.

The Arbor is being screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York, on Wednesday, April 28. The film is due for release in the UK in October.

Meanwhile, a documentary about Andrea is to be shown as part of a new season on Channel 4’s digital channel, More4.

Andrea, who died in 1989 of a brain haemorrhage aged 29, wrote The Arbor for a school assignment. It won the Young Writers’ Festival and premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 1980. Andrea then wrote Rita, Sue and Bob Too, also set on Buttershaw estate, which was made into a 1987 film.

Executive producer of The Arbor Michael Morris said: “We had nothing but a warm welcome from everyone on Buttershaw estate. Clio spent two years getting to know people.

“We can’t speak to Andrea, but this film is told through her words and those who knew her.”

e-mail: emma.clayton @telegraphandargus.co.uk