SHE was first runner-up at The New Paper New Face 2011 finals last October.

That was also where Charlotte Hand caught the eye of Japanese director Yusuke Akamatsu, who was at the modelling competition with his scouts.

Akamatsu told Hand that she had a very "bubbly, bright character" when he decided to cast her for a supporting role shortly in his upcoming iPhone movie Sheep That Cannot Sleep.

Hand, 18, told The New Paper: "The New Face finals were a very hectic kind of fun. We were always being shuttled around, and our adrenaline was constantly pumping."

Hand, who is pursuing a diploma in Media Studies and Management at Nanyang Polytechnic, added: "Filming a movie is very different because I'm more used to being the one directing people in school productions.

"I was also just a small cog in a big production, which moved at a much slower pace than that which I'm used to."

Sheep That Cannot Sleep is perhaps the first full-length feature film in the world to be shot exclusively on the iPhone 4S, on a budget of $335,000.

The science-fiction thriller stars Fly Entertainment actress Mindee Ong as protagonist Matinee and also features Japanese actor Akihiro Kawai.

Hand said: "Shooting with the iPhone provides the opportunity for a lot of very unique angles that can't realistically be achieved with a normal hand-held camera."

She also revealed that Akamatsu took her under his wing and coached her in acting for about a month from October to November.

Principal photography took place in Singapore in November and December before moving to the Gifu Prefecture in Japan on Christmas Day for a four-day stretch of location shoots.

She said: "The snow was almost waist-high (in Gifu), and the temperature was almost minus 14 deg C at times.

"We had a stay over at a traditional Japanese inn, where we had Japanese beef and puffer fish.

"The beef simply melts like butter in your mouth. What I assumed was sashimi was revealed to me as puffer fish after I'd swallowed it.

"It was delicious!"

Alternate reality

The production then moved back to Singapore and concluded earlier this month.

Sheep That Cannot Sleep is scheduled to be released next month.

Hand said that she plays Soiree, Matinee's sister who exists as a figment of Matinee's imagination and de facto "guardian angel" ever since Matinee was a child.

Following a traumatic incident in her childhood, Matinee is hooked up to a virtual reality machine.

She then experiences an alternate reality where the traumatic incident never happened and Soiree is the sister that she always wanted but never had in real life.

Hand said: "Mindee's a great natural actress. She helped me a lot during many scenes.

"I was quite nervous to be working alongside her at first, given that she's so well-known, but she's very easy-going.

"She's also very professional. She can turn on or off different emotions with such ease. It's almost like she has an on-off switch in her head. Mindee has a lot of great ideas on how to shoot certain scenes, and she's not afraid to voice her opinions."

Even after acting in the movie, Hand still feels The New Face contest was the highlight of her life.

"I used to be pretty shy, like I'd give one-word replies and not make eye contact with people when speaking with them.

"The New Face really helped me grow in maturity and confidence."

As for future plans, Hand, who had applied to be a RazorTV intern,said: "I want to be a great journalist one day.

"I'd love to be able to cover this year's New Face finals myself. I could provide the most unique perspective in bringing (it) to life."