Inspired by a group of street kids he met and hung out with in an Athens ghetto, Greek writer-director Constantine Giannaris wrote the script for his Panorama screener From The Edge of the City in a month. "It's kind of like live material in a sense."

These young exiles of Greek descent came from the Black Sea to Greece after the break-up of the Soviet Union. At the bottom of the social ladder, they get by working as rent boys or committing petty crimes. It's their struggle to survive and make something of their lives that is at the centre of the story.

Giannaris cast several of the boys in key roles. "The majority of actors in the film were non-professionals," says the director. "They never had any relationship to cinema or theatre." He rehearsed them for several months before beginning his five-week shoot on location in Athens. "In a way they were probably more disciplined than professional actors, because for them it was a make or break experience."

As a result of working on the film some of them have taken a step back from the fringe of the criminal world, says Giannaris. "Some have started going to school again. Some want to act and go to drama school. They want to do something with their lives."

Giannaris, who lives and works in London, is no stranger to the Berlinale Panorama. In the past, three of his shorts have been selected for screening. From The Edge of the City is his second feature. Owen Levy