SHIFTY - In Cinemas NOW

Lead Actors

RIZ AHMED (Shifty)

Riz Ahmed plays Shifty

Riz Ahmed is one of the most exciting actors and musicians of his generation. Recently nominated for Best Actor at the 2008 British Independent Film Awards for his lead role in Shifty, Riz will also attend the 2008 Berlin Film festival for the worldwide premiere of his next feature Rage; a Sally Potter film, with Jude Law and Judi Dench scheduled for release in summer 2009.

Rizss previous credits include the BAFTA-winning Britz, the multi-award-winning Road to Guantanamo (Silver Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival and Best British Documentary at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards), both hotly debated and critically acclaimed. In October 2008 he starred alongside Jaime Winstone in E4’s hugely successful Dead Set, written by Guardian contributor Charlie Brooker and ITV’s Wired. In Spring Riz can be seen on BBC 2’s Freefall with an all-star cast including Dominic Cooper, Aidan Gillen and Rosamund Pike. As a musician under the name ‘Riz MC’ he has built on strong Radio 1 support with the release of his single Radar/People Like People, which was released in November and described by Music Week as ‘cinematic…edgy…his most accomplished work to date’, the Radar remix is set for release on January 26th. His debut single Post 9/11 Blues became an internet cult classic, winning global media attention despite censorship by almost all mainstream music programmers. He recently performed with Dizzee Rascal at The Warehouse Project and holds an artistic residency at the Southbank Centre.

DANIEL MAYS (Chris)

Daniel Mays plays Chris

RADA graduate Danny Mays has performed five plays at the Royal Court Theatre garnering critical praise for parts written specifically for him including Motortown by Simon Stephens and The Winterling by Jez Butterworth. He won the Best Actor prize at the Palmare Television Festival in 2003 for his role in the hard hitting improvised BBC drama Rehab. His television credits include series lead Carter Kranz in Funland, Consent, Class of 76, Tipping the Velvet, Top Buzzer, Saddam’s Tribe and Half Broken Things. Danny’s film credits include two collaborations with Oscar nominated film maker Mike Leigh, Vera Drake and All or Nothing and Joe Wright’s Atonement. He was also seen on screens in 2008 opposite Jason Statham in British thriller The Bank Job and will be seen in 2009 in Hippie Hippie Shake with Sienna Miller, in Mr. Nobody with Diane Kruger and in Nick Love’s remake of The Firm. He is currently filming Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s big screen version of Tintin.

Behind the scenes

The Crew

ERAN CREEVY (Writer/Director)

Eran Creevy began his film career as a post production runner working his way up to assistant director roles on a variety of features. His credits include Layer Cake, Scoop, Life and Lyrics and Wimbledon. His directing career began on pop promos for Ashley Walters, Ministry of Sound, and the Audio Bullies before graduating onto commercials. Most recently, Eran helmed a four commercial European campaign for Nike Plus. Directing his first feature was a daunting prospect for the 32 year old who also penned the screenplay basing the characters on real events observed growing up in the London suburbs. “The first time I walked into the production office and saw all the actors’ photos spread across the wall was the moment the enormity of what I was responsible for really hit me. The characters I had created alone in a room on my laptop now had faces and were going to be brought to life by actual, professional actors. It was surreal, exciting and terrifying simultaneously.”

RORY AITKEN & BEN PUGH (Producers)

Rory’s first taste of the film industry was working on the set of blockbuster The Quiet American while travelling in Vietnam. On returning to the UK, Oxford Law graduate Rory set about gaining as much production experience as he could, initially working in production on the hit BBC television show Spooks, and then moving on to work as assistant to the Hollywood producer Stephanie Austin on Sahara with Matthew McConnaughey, and for US television producer David E Kelley, creator of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal. Ben began in film by working across a range of departments including locations, production, and assistant directing. His film credits include Saving Private Ryan, Batman Begins, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. He also worked at one of London’s top talent agents and at RSA Films.

Rory and Ben met on the set of Sahara, and in January 2006 they began their producing partnership at Between the Eyes (BTE). Initially developing the company through low budget music videos and digital content, BTE has since been highly successfully in producing commercials for clients such as Nike, Coca Cola, Cadbury’s, and Sony, and music videos for artists such as Coldplay, Jay-Z and Dido, amongst others. They executive produced Extraordinary Rendition, directed by Jim Threapleton starring Andy Serkis (Lord Of The Rings, King Kong), in 2007 before producing Shifty.