'I'm so proud to be in a film set in my home city of Wolverhampton - here's why'
An actor is hopeful that the success of a stirring and thought-provoking film around modern slavery will bring more filming opportunities to his city.
Aaron Virdee said that he hoped to see the filmmakers of the world begin to look at his home of Wolverhampton as a place to come to after the release of the film "Dog Run".
Dog Run tells the story of a homeless migrant caught in the grip of modern slavery in Wolverhampton and who finds salvation through his growing connection to the guard dog on the site where he is held.
The film, which was released on Friday on Apple TV, was filmed in and around Wolverhampton, using locations such as Bobbington, Penn and Whitmore Reans to capture the lives of those people caught up in modern day slavery.
Aaron Virdee said he played Mario, a character who has ended up in the situation he's in due to his immigration status, and said the film was a powerful example of how exploitation of people could be seen on plain sight.
He said: "The film is more to do with slave labour and human trafficking and is something we don't see and we're not always aware of, but it's something that's very much in clear view and the film is very much to do with exploitation.
"I do feel it's kind of relevant to today's society as well as I think that given everything that's going on with immigration and people who are new to this country, people are coming here looking for a better life and my ancestors were among those who came here and ended up in slave labour.
"I kind of feel that I can understand from my ancestors how they are able to come to this country looking for a better life and they'll do whatever it takes, so making this film was just so poignant and relevant."
Mr Virdee said it had been a thrill to be able to film in his home city and have a film which had picked up awards across the world and said that he hoped the film would promote the city as a place to visit and film in.
He said: "I've spent most of my career filming in London, Manchester and Birmingham, so to film Wolverhampton and use the locations we did is incredible and while the film is not a showcase of Wolverhampton, I'm proud that Dog Run was filmed there.
"Most of the cast were from the city, while the crew have come from all over the world to Wolverhampton and we paid for locations in the city and we put money into the city, so it's incredible to be able to put money into the community.
"There were lots of actors from the West Midlands that put their all into this and I think that's important as Wolverhampton can get lost, so it's nice to know that people in this city can have hope and projects like this can come here."
Dog Run can be watched by going to: Apple TV Dog Run