"Shifty" - An Independant British Thriller

1. The plot is as follows: “Shifty” is a thriller that builds slowly. There are three interwoven threads to the story. Chris (Daniel Mays), a young man in his twenties returns home to visit a best friend he has not seen for years. An enigma is set up. Why did Chris leave? We suspect something awful happened but are not sure.

2. This follows on as we learn that Shifty has become a drug dealer. As he completes his ‘round’ the film creates a realistic picture of urban life. A second thread to the story concerns Trevor who is a drug addict and desperate for drugs.

3. The third and most important plot involves Shifty being placed in danger by Glen who lies and claims Shifty is short changing his supplier. Shifty fears for his safety and the film builds toward a climax of tension. The final resolution to the film takes the audience by surprise.

4. In that respect, I appreciate this. While it may not instant scream thriller, it still fits into the genre, and it s extremely well done for a project completed in 18 days. The characters don't feel two dimensional but real and relatable, and the story has been able to capture a believable snapshot of their lives.

4.1. This film is an example of a thriller that throws away typical conventions such as continual action and black and white shots, in favour of plot and trying to relate to a modern audience. It is effective in respecting the genre, but is better for the fact that it also stays true to where its set and who it involves.

5. In addition to this, Metrodome ran: Adverts on pirate radio stations, Fly posters (or illegally placed posters), business cards that depicted Shifty as a real drug dealer, created a music video and a website that was shared on social media. most controversially, the film sent out viral emails, but this was reported and complained about and banned.

6. Finally, a contest was run offering the youth audience a chance to win £500 of studio time - and this was offered in conjunction with the chance to perform with Riz Ahmed, a musician also starring in the film.

7. In order to attract these audiences, there were two different trailers. An official trailer, and also a trailer with a modern, "hip-hop"music, despite the fact that there was no actual soundtrack to the film.

8. Poster for "Shifty"

9. "Shifty" is a British Film that was made in 2008, under the Microwave Scheme, that was funded by the UK Film Council. This has now been replaced by the BFI.

10. The rules of this scheme are as follows: You have to live in London, be of a "young" demographic, made in 18 days, and for less that £100,000.

11. "Shifty" is the second film of this scheme. The film opened in 51 independent cinemas such as the Curzon chain, making £61,000 in its opening weekend, and £143,000 from DVD and Television sales.

12. Shifty was distributed by Metrodome, and they spent £50,000 on celluloid prints, administration and advertising. Unlike most of these films, two audiences were to be attracted.

13. The first audience is for a middle class audience, those who regularly see small independent films. In addition to this however, they wanted to attract a newer, younger and urban audience. This audience are what made "kidulthood" and "adulthood" so popular.