Shifty "opens doors" on a shoestring budget

It has been two and a half years since The Wharf first caught up with Eran, who was fresh from securing a £100,000 budget for a movie as part of Film London's Microwave scheme.

In that time, the former Layer Cake runner has handled commercials for Coca Cola and Nike, shot award-winning music videos, and is now attracting slavering critics with a tale spanning 24 hours in the life of a crack dealer and his former best mate.

Eran, 32, said: "Interest in the film has really started to heat up. It opens doors to you because you get to meet people in the film industry.

"There are posters all over the Tube and it has had an amazing internet campaign."

The film follows Chris (Daniel Mays) as he returns home to the fictional town of Dudlow after four years to catch up with his friend Shifty (Riz Ahmed), just as Shifty's crack dealing career starts to become dangerous.

Eran drew on his own experiences growing up in Harlow, Essex, for the film, which he shot in just 18 days.

He said: "Some of the characters are based on family members and friends. Shifty himself is inspired by a real person, but you draw inspiration from everybody you come across in your life."

While this is Eran's film debut, he's already won a UK Music Video Award for his work on Utah Saints' Something Good, and directed major commercials, such as Nike's Not a Runner campaign, through Between The Eyes, the production company he formed with colleagues from his early days on sets.

He said: "I've always worked on music videos and commercials, so I'm used to commanding a big set. I was most nervous about working with the actors.

"We shot a quick schedule and if we'd had less experienced actors we might have had a few problems, but they knew exactly how things worked on set and were nailing it straight away."

Shortly after debuting at last year's London Film Festival, Shifty was picked up by distributor Metrodome Group, nominated for five British Independent Film Awards, and Eran himself was hailed by The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw as "a film-maker to watch".

It wasn't just the movie itself that made waves, as Shifty's viral internet marketing provided visitors with a chance to spook their mates.

Eran said: "You'd fill in your name and details and it would send your friend a professional-looking email saying you'd been arrested for cocaine possession and that you'd given their name as a habitual cocaine user. It said they should register through a link or they could get into trouble, but sent them to a promo for the film instead.

"It got into the newspapers because so many people fell for it. One person admitted to his boss that he had a cocaine habit. Eventually we had to take it down."

Eran himself believes his film is "fundamentally about friendship".

He said: "It'll make you laugh and cry and not want to do drugs any more.

"At the end of the day it's a slightly cautionary tale in its own way but an optimistic one that's full of hope. In the current climate people don't want to be walking out of the cinema depressed."

While he will be continuing with commercial and video work, Eran is now looking forward to shooting his second feature film, Welcome To The Punch.

He said: "It's an epic crime thriller like Heat or Infernal Affairs. If I can achieve the naturalistic style of Shifty and the epic scope of films like Heat, I'll have nailed it."

Shifty is out in cinemas now. Go to shiftyfilm.com for more information