Bluff (2022)

Interesting facts

Bluff is a 2022 independent neo-noir crime thriller film written, directed, filmed, edited and produced by Sheikh Shahnawaz. It tells the story of a London police officer who goes undercover as a heroin addict in a small town and manipulates an unsuspecting local junkie into working with him for a dangerous drug dealer.

Production

Bluff was written, directed, filmed, edited and produced by Sheikh Shahnawaz as his feature directorial debut. Shahnawaz had finished writing the screenplay just 5 days before his father died. He went into production a month later to finish the film in honor of his father's memory. Shahnawaz was inspired by issues in his hometown:

This is a deeply personal film for me. Not only because of having to deal with my father's death while making it but also because it was set in my hometown and deals with homelessness and the illicit trade of heroin which is a prevalent issue here. I spent time with actual heroin users and drug dealers for research.

Sheikh produced Bluff for a final production budget of $2,000. He did this by filming completely guerilla as a one-man crew with locally-based actors in his hometown of Birmingham, England:

I was forced to make this film with only my own resources because as a 26-year-old filmmaker, a child of 2 Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants, from the inner-city of Birmingham, nobody in the UK film industry would give me a mainstream opportunity.

The last 25% of the production was filmed after a 6-month hiatus in 2020 once COVID-19 lockdown measures had eased.

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