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Nasif Ali auditioned more than 200 local people and has assembled a cast and crew to get his screenplay into production.

Featuring a local cast of largely non-professional actors, 'Chances' tells two separate stories of a youngster and an adult who both fall into lives of street crime and drug running.

The script was inspired by interviews the director conducted with real teenagers on West Midlands streets and features cast members from a range of ethnic backgrounds.

Photo shoot for 'Chances'

"This film is about Birmingham and features normal, local people from the streets," Nasif explains. "The three main actors are British Asian, British mixed race and white. It's a very multi-cultural project. I wanted to give local people the chance to get into the movie industry because I found it so hard."

Training

The young director was 16 when he decided that to pursue a career in movie-making.

"Coming from West Smethwick, you don't get that chance to be able to get into the media and film," he says. "I struggled a lot to get this far."

Photo shoot for 'Chances'

Nasif enrolled in a photography course at the Matthew Bolton College before studying acting at Sandwell College. But he had to travel further afield gain crucial on-set experience.

"I went to Bombay, India and studied on a three month course with a veteran actor called Anupam Kher. That's based in London now. I struggled really because I was British and didn't learn the Indian language so it was tough to get a break.

"I managed to get a small part in a Bollywood production and I learned filmmaking from there because the director I got along with very well. He gave me lots of tips and ideas. I then got involved in a production company who make adverts promoting things like Miss India. I started as a runner and worked my way to Assistant Director."

Photo shoot for 'Chances'

'Chances'

Nasif returned to the UK in January 2009 and began work on a screenplay based on the experiences of disaffected teenagers on British streets and higher profile criminals controlling drug empires.

"The single biggest reason that kids today end up involved in street crime is because their parents aren't around to guide them," he explains.

"Personally, I am very blessed. I come from a very happy family and my parents have been together for years. But not everyone is so lucky. I went to the streets and interviewed small-time thugs and gangsters.

Photo shoot for 'Chances'

"The two stories in 'Chances' show opposite ends of the spectrum – the boy from a broken home who ends up a drug runner on the streets and the man who controls a crime network and how it operates from the top. It's a very powerful story."

Nasif has gathered together a full production team and 50 cast members to bring the film to life. On 1st June 2009 they take to the streets of Smethwick, West Bromwich and West Smethwick to put his script to celluloid over a ten week shooting period.

"I'm still looking for extras," he says. "I want to help people to get involved in the industry, to give them that chance. You don't have to be of a certain ethnic origin – anyone can get involved. I want teenagers to realise that they can always get a chance to get into something better like filmmaking or acting instead of drugs and crimes on the streets."

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