Gerald McMorrow, 38, director, Franklyn

Franklyn is pretty much an urban fairytale. It’s about four different characters in London, all totally disconnected but who end up together in the end. One of them, played by Eva Green, is an art student and is doing projects that are increasingly more complex and deadly.

Milo, played by Sam Riley, is a heartbroken thirtysomething, who has just gone through a divorce and is desperately trying to find his way back to purity. Ryan Philippe plays a detective on the streets of Meanwhile City, a city governed by religious fervour. It’s almost medieval! They were an absolute pleasure to work with, all three of them were incredibly helpful and made my life easier.

London is quite an amazing place where a lot of very strange things happen. I used an atypical and off-kilter background, and told a story that wouldn’t normally be told. The film was set around some tricky locations but we managed to shoot it.

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OWE2, Oct 16, 6pm; Rio, Oct 19, 1.30pm

Eran Creevy, 32, director, Shifty

The film is about the life of a young Muslim drug dealer, about a friendship. His best friend is coming back into town after being away for four years, and because of that things get a little bit out of control. The main actors are Daniel Mays, who was seen in Atonement, and Riz Ahmed, who was in The Road to Guantanamo, who plays Shifty. They were amazing. We shot it last year, for 18 days, which is really short, and our budget was £100,000.

One of the things I was nervous about was working with actors. During previous projects and big films I’ve worked on, a bad behaviour and attitude in actors was putting me off. But during Shifty, it turned out to be the most enjoyable part of the whole experience.

OWE1, Oct 24, 9pm; Ritzy, Oct 26, 6.30pm

Pat Holden, 42, director, Awaydays

Awaydays is the story of Paul Carty, a disaffected young middle-class ex-art student now in a deadend office job. He longs to be a member of “The Pack”, a gang of violent football hooligans. He cannot join until he befriends Elvis, a sexually ambiguous, heroin-smoking working-class bohemian. It’s a story of unrequited love, of wanting what you can’t have.

The young actors were full of enthusiasm and energy. They felt like they were working on something important. I was knocked out by them. It was also a privilege to work with Stephen Graham who I think is one of Britain’s greatest actors.

We wanted to capture that incredibly potent and creative time just after punk. Dave Hughes was in some seminal bands of that time so the score he’s provided is spot-on. He even used vintage Moogs.

NFT1, Oct 19, 9pm; NFT1, Oct 20, 2pm

Richard Jobson, 47, director, New Town Killers

New Town Killers is an action film based around two hedge fund managers who get the kick by hunting young kids. It’s a pretty nasty story set in Edinburgh over 24 hours. I’ve set it in Edinburgh because I’m from there, and because it’s the fourth most important financial platform of Europe now. The characters remind me of the guys from Hitchcock’s Rope, or American Psycho maybe. I think in essence the story is a reflection of British society. It’s all to do with money and power, but also with a kind of barbarism and masculinity. I wanted to make that movie because I work with a charity in Edinburgh which deals with young adults whose parents are alcoholics or heroin addicts and I do film classes with them. They’re really good kids.

Dougray Scott plays the main banker. The moment he walked on the set, I just knew he was the character. I could have done with two more weeks, and two more million. Sometimes these conditions make you more creative. You’ve got to focus on the story, the plot, the characters.

OWE1, Oct 28, 6.30pm; OWE2, Oct 30, 3.30pm

Giles Borg, 42, director, 1 2 3 4

I’ve spent my whole life being in bands, or working with bands or being around bands. One thing I know is music, and being in a band seemed the perfect idea for a low-budget film – so we created this movie about an indie band trying to get their break. You’ve got a group of people stuck into a rehearsal room who tend to argue a lot. Everything seemed to fit.

I wanted to do something with people at that sort of level where you go on stage and you carry your own equipment and you plug it all in. The great thing about film is that there are so many people who work in it and who are really passionate about it so no matter what you pay, people work fantastically. But having said that, it was really hard. We had to shoot it in four weeks.

We recorded the songs so the actors could mime to them. But when we came to it, they actually asked me: “We’ve been practising these songs for a bit, and we’d like to do them live.” So in all the scenes of the band rehearsing, they’re actually playing the songs live. It just sounds great.

I’d like it to remind people of what it’s like being in love with something or somebody. Everyone I know has been in a band at some point. When we talked to the sales agent, he confessed to us: “I’m still in a band.” But it’s not just for people in bands, it’s about people who are doing things they are passionate about.

NFT1, Oct 17, 9pm; Ritzy, Oct 24, 6.30pm; Studio, Oct 25, 7.30pm

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