The Film Industry - Case Study: Shifty (UK 2009) d. Eran Creevy

Synopsis

From the website Eye for Film. After 4 years, Chris (Danny Mays) returns to where he grew up, it seems at first to attend a party, but his real motive is to catch up with his old buddy, Shifty (Riz Ahmed), who he left behind. Whilst away, Chris has settled into responsible adult life, with a mortgage and a good job, but he is shocked to discover that Shifty has started dealing hard drugs, supplied by the double dealing Glen (Jason Flemyng).

Although happy to see him, Shifty hasn't fully forgiven Chris for leaving in the first place, and we soon learn that the circumstances under which Chris left are more complicated than they first appear. They spend the next 24 hours together, with Chris watching Shifty as he deals to a variety of increasingly desperate customers from the community. Over the course of this day they are forced to confront the ghosts from the past that drove Chris away and the desperate and dangerous present that Shifty finds himself in, whilst re-discovering their friendship. Chris is once again given an opportunity to prove his loyalty to Shifty and to save Shifty from himself.

Based on Eran Creevy's teenage experiences, and boasting convincing performances from a cast of rising stars, the film cost just £100,000 and was funded by Film London's Microwave scheme, and delivered after a shooting schedule of just 18 days.

Main Trailer



Production Companies

Between The Eyes - http://www.betweentheeyes.co.uk/
Film London - http://www.filmlondon.org.uk/

Distributors

Metrodome Distribution (2009) (UK) (all media)
http://www.metrodomegroup.com/

Websites

Home - http://www.shiftyfilm.com/
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifty_(film)
IMDB entry - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1104126/

Reviews

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/dvd-reviews/6043814/Shifty-DVD-review.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/apr/24/shifty-film-review

http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?id=7396

Background/Publicity

On The Set Of Shifty - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/A31986741

Interviews with actor Daniel Mays and director Eran Creevy http://www.pyroradio.com/index.cfm/act/news_details/id/299

Funding by Film London: http://www.filmlondon.org.uk/press_details.asp?NewsID=938

Details of the Microwave scheme
http://www.filmlondon.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=779

http://microwave.filmlondon.org.uk/

Film Education site for Shifty - http://www.filmeducation.org/shifty/

DVD Trailer

ITN Press Release and Interview with Riz Ahmed



Riz MC / Sway & Plan B - Shifty

Video from the original motion picture soundtrack for Shifty starring Danny Mays and Riz Ahmed. The track features the film's star Riz MC as well as Sway and Plan B, and is produced by Blue Bear from True Tiger.




Questions on the Production and Distribution of Shifty

Q1. Production - From your reading - what does production involve? What was the inspiration behind Shifty? What were the difficulties of working on a low budget film? How did the Film London Microwave scheme help Shifty get produced? Where does the Microwave scheme get its money from? What other films have received money from the Microwave scheme?

Q2. Distribution - How does a company like Metrodome 'distribute' a film? How did Metrodome find out about Shifty? What is one of the most important ways a low budget film can find a distributor? How did being part of the Microwave scheme help Shifty find a distributor? Where is Metrodome based? What difficulties did Metrodome come up against as they attempted to 'market' Shifty?

Now watch these extracts from interviews with Ben Pugh and Rory Aitken (Co-Producers), Eran Creevy (Writer & Director) and the Kitchen Rehearsal Scene.

What do these add to your understanding of how this film got to be made?