His debut feature, based on his award-winning 2006 short of the same name, will shoot in Glasgow this summer.

Writer/director Zam Salim will shoot his debut feature this summer in Scotland.

Laid Off is adapted from his award-winning 2006 short of the same name and expands on the blackly comic tale of a recently deceased man (Martin) coming to terms with the frustration and boredom of the afterlife.

Salim was selected as one of Screen International’s Stars Of Tomorrow in 2007 and has directed a number of shorts and episodes of the popular BBC television series M.I. High.

Laid Off is produced by Annalise Davis for Wilder Films and will shoot in and around Glasgow for four weeks from June 14. Burn Gorman (Cemetery Junction) heads the cast as Martin.

“The short was very funny and the concept really caught the imagination,” says Davis. “The feature takes the concept and finds a story and an emotional arc for the central character. It’s more of a buddy film as Martin and his livewire sidekick go in search of a lost soul and at the same time he is coming to terms with the fact that he is dead and the realities of that.”

The low-budget Laid Off received $446,860 (£310,000) of production funds from the UK Film Council and is also funded by Scottish Screen and Eyeline Entertainment. TV rights have been acquired by the BBC.

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