A FILM about a mystery Black Country artist was given an exclusive airing at a secret location in Stourbridge - and may have even enticed the elusive ghost writer himself out of the woodwork.

The Mayor of Dudley - Councillor Margaret Aston - and her consort, Councillor Adam Aston, attended the screening of Someday I'll Find You by renowned film-maker Barney Snow.

The 46-minute film sees retired police inspector Mick Pearson on the trail of the unidentified artist, known as AJW, who has been leaving beer mats featuring distinctive sketches of dead opera star Mario Lanza across the Black Country and beyond for half a century.

Michael Heaton from Kingswinford organised the film showing, held at Paul Slim's cinema shed (finalist in Channel 4's Shed of the Year competition) on Saturday February 21, as legendary line drawer AJW is a "personal friend" of his.

He said: "I've known him for about 40 years - I used to work with him years ago. He's a master of disguise; he goes into a pub or club and vanishes as if he's disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. He's like the Scarlett Pimpernel."

He said he has often been accused of being the discreet doodler, dubbed the Black Country's Banksy, but he stressed: "I can assure you I'm not."

London-based documentary maker Barney, who produced, filmed and directed Someday I'll Find You between regular TV work, spent nearly three years working on the film which captures a masked AWJ on camera.

At Saturday's screening, the film-maker told audience members the self-funded quirky documentary was considered "a bit bizarre and weird" for TV but it has been screened at film festivals and various events across the country including at The Court House in Dudley back in November.

Barney, who has shot and directed numerous TV shows including Trawlermen for BBC1, said: "There's a quarter of a million artworks by AJW that have been made - there's tens of thousands of them still around. It's an interesting phenomenon."

Mike Steven, a friend of cinema shed owner Paul Slim, has over the years collected hundreds of AJW's calling cards - which feature hand drawn felt tip images of the late American/Italian singer and screen star - who was the most famous tenor in the world at the time of his untimely death in 1959 at the age of 38.

English teacher Mike, who runs the Mario Lanza AJW Facebook site, said: "He's written to me at work a few times and he sends me post cards from London and places like that.

"He's also left me cards with phone numbers on but I never wanted to phone them. I don't really want to know who he is."

But it's possible the shadowy figure, also known as The Phantom, was sitting in the same room during the screening.

Writer Chris Smith, who says he interviewed the mysterious AJW (clad in a mask - of course) six years ago, didn't think so - but one never knows.

I had my own suspicions - which were only compounded by a follow-up comment from Barney Snow who said the man whose obsession has kept Mario Lanza's name alive for more than 50 years after his death is these days "in constant danger of blowing his cover but can't resist hiding in plain view sometimes".

Could it be that, now advancing in years, the secretive AJW is boldly building towards revealing his true identity?