A zombie movie filmed in Tooting on a budget of just £45 has turned out to be a hit at the Cannes Film Festival.

Colin, directed by amateur film-maker Marc Price, was made using a crowbar, some tapes and volunteer actors found on Facebook, the social networking site.

The film, which was screened alongside movies by Quentin Tarantino and Ang Lee, drew huge audiences at the international film festival last week and two Japanese companies have already made bids to distribute it.

Mr Price told The Times newspaper: “We wanted to focus on story and character, and rely on that to hook the audience.

“Cast-wise we had over 100 people and I’m still not quite sure how that happened. Lots of them were just like, ‘Hey, I’d love to be a zombie’, so we said, ‘If you want to be a human too, bring a weapon of your choice.”

The 30-year-old, who comes from Swansea and has no formal training in film-making, said he picked up most of his skills from DVD extras, such as directors’ commentaries.

Colin was shot on a camcorder in Swansea and Tooting over 18 months using actors and make-up artists who donated their services for free.

The film-makers aimed at an unusual twist on the zombie genre, telling the story from the point of view of the zombie.

Mr Price said: “The ultimate goal was rather than going for screams, we wanted to try to move the audience, to try to get them to cry, get a real emotional response from them.

“We wanted to try to avoid what other films had done, which is why we began doing it from the zombie’s perspective.”

The 97-minute movie was shown at the Marche des Films - the vast conference centre attached to the main festival hall, where film-makers vie for attention.

Mr Price, who works for a courier firm in London, is already planning his next endeavour - a World War II film involving a limpet-like monster.

This time the budget may even stretch to £100.

To see the trailer for Colin, visit ColinMovie.com