Some weeks ago we had the chance to interview UK independent film director Parmjit Singh about his latest work Mistaken I.D. FilmTiki has been developing an online marketing strategy for this film which explores the crimes committed by those who are supposed to protect the public. Crimes that are often left untold.

The Plot of Mistaken ID is centred around the effects of police brutality and aggression in a multicultural world.

Mistaken ID is a contemporary short thriller, set in a shopping centre in East London. Thirteen minutes long, it centres on three black and Asian youths aged 21 and 22. The three youths hang out at the centre, talk on the phone and fool around. At one point they are approached by another group who offer them a stolen mobile phone, which they refuse to buy. Afterwards they are approached by security guards and police officers, who they attempt to run away from. Confronted by the police, the resulting confusion escalates into an aggressive, and ultimately tragic, fight.

Why make this movie?

 In a recent interview, Parmjit talked about his interest in the experiences of those mistreated by public institutions, such as the police, prisons and psychiatric institutions, something that has resulted in over a thousand deaths in the UK since 1965. Furthermore, ever since the terrorist attacks in New York and London, the controversial stop and search tactics carried out by the police has seen a rise in the number of such incidents among the Asian and Muslim communities. In an increasingly violent and aggressive age, Parmjit's motivation is to bring one of these many untold stories of conflict between the police and the public to a wider audience.

 Marketing and distribution

 The current strategy for Mistaken ID is based around distribution via film festivals. This has seen Parmjit busy submitting the film to specific festivals around the world, and when we asked him about his online marketing, it turned out he hadn't really considered doing any.

 "I haven't really looked at that to be honest with you," Parmjit says. "I am one of this rare people that doesn't have an account on Facebook."

  At the moment Parmjit is sending out emails with links to his production company, Agitate Films', website to promote it to his friends and email contacts. While, on the website itself there is a trailer of Mistaken ID along with some production stills.

 This is a good start, but nevertheless we recommended Parmjit go one-step further and launch a separate website for Mistaken ID. By doing so, he will be able to provide his audience not only with specific information about the film, but also regular news and blog posts. In turn, the website can feature a range of videos, and provide the opportunity to present the film's cast and crew. From here, the next part of an online strategy for Parmjit would involve promotion via social network platforms such as Facebook or Bebo, which are particularly popular in the UK.

 "I was looking at kind of social networking sites but maybe a little bit later and I maybe don't know enough about them," Parmjit says.

  This is where FilmTiki aims to help Parmjit, and the sooner he begins his online activities the better the publicity Mistaken ID is likely to receive. Though building a community around the film will take time, there are however already many people interested in finding out more. By using these online tools, Parmjit has the ability to quickly and directly inform them of what is happening. When it comes to this form of promotion, Twitter can also prove a useful channel to use. Through the film's Twitter account, Parmjit will be able to automatically update his status across other social networks. Not only does this save time, it ensures his updates will appear across all his platforms.

 During our conversation we started talking about the film's trailer, and we suggested to Parmjit that he upload it to YouTube and other video streaming platforms. Once uploaded, he will then be able to embed it on his social network profiles as well, thereby making it widely available through many different outlets.

 "A friend of mine has got a Vimeo account and he really recommends it," he says. "Because I think the quality of the video is much better than on YouTube...I'm going look into Vimeo and DailyMotion as well."

  So, which to choose? YouTube, Vimeo or Dailymotion? In fact, all of them are useful, and the more people who see the trailer, the better.

  The next steps

  Now Mistaken ID is finished, Parmjit is currently waiting to hear back from the various film festivals he has submitted it to. Alongside this, Parmjit needs to begin promoting his film through online channels, and should start by launching a website, as well as building a profile across social networks and video platforms. While, the film may be complete there is certainly a lot more work for Parmjit and his crew to do, but in the end it should all pay off.

  In any case, we shall be keeping in touch with Parmjit and will report on his progress over the next few weeks on the FilmTiki Blog.