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With a history of tackling pertinent social issues – previous films include Born Equal, When I Was Twelve, Love + Hate, Out Of Control and Nice Girl – a hallmark of writer/director Dominic Savage's work is to focus on the human stories behind the headlines. Freefall is no exception, as Savage explains:

"It's not just about the mechanics of why the city has fallen into collapse. "There is an element of that. We're all implicated, at every level of society in that greed, the wanting more and more.

"I wanted to make a film about human nature in that respect. It was an attempt to dissect the values of people: what matters to people the most, what ultimately brings us happiness. My premise is that it's not through material or money."

Savage is unequivocal about what does bring true happiness, and this is a message that runs through the heart of Freefall.

"It's through relationships that we find ultimate happiness. I'm into relationships in dramas. I want to explore complexities that exist for people in their relationships with others, and how important that is and how difficult it is to get right. It's a subject you could do so much with, once it gets you it's fascinating."

Freefall incorporates Savage's trademark sense of realism – achieved, as with previous films, through the use of improvisation, real-life locations and real people.

"It's important to get the place right and to populate it with people from that world," says Savage. There are lots of real people in Freefall – when Dave meets clients and tries to sell them mortgages, they are real people in real houses.

"The actor becomes very immersed in that world, much more so than in a normal drama. If you were to see us on location, you wouldn't think it was a film being made."

This immersion can culminate in spontaneous and natural performances. In Freefall, Savage called upon his skills as an expert film-maker to draw these performances from the cast.

"It's a question of trust. I workshop with them and really get to know them until I believe that they're going to be truthful and that they understand the character really well. You build a kind of friendship so that when you get to filming they trust you enough and are relaxed enough to go that extra length."

Despite this close relationship, Savage does not write with specific actors in mind.

"I tend to write with a sense of the character that I imagine, plus people I've met that embody that character. It's a mixture of my imagination and real people, but the casting process brings it alive. Actors bring a lot of themselves. As they improvise in these scenes, their real feelings emerge and I think that's when it works best and is at its most truthful."

Savage is known for his meticulous research, and for this film, the obvious place to start was amongst the people genuinely affected by the financial meltdown.

"I met people who were going through the loss of their home. There's nothing more heartbreaking and difficult and traumatic. It was a big turning point for me when I met these people face to face – it's as desperate as you can get.

"I wanted to look at the psychology and the progression of that. The people I met felt foolish for doing what they'd done and were much happier when they didn't have any debt and didn't owe anything. They may not have had the big show-off houses, but they were happier people.

"They learned lessons, as did my characters. Throughout the film every character goes through some process of change and discovery."

The lesson to be learned, according to Savage, is that everyone shares a portion of the blame.

"Everyone is culpable. You could say that the really bad boys were the mortgage brokers who ultimately persuaded people to get into debt. The real persuasive characters who just walked away with the money, their motivation was money, they lied, they were the nastier characters.

"But then again the guy who couldn't afford it but believed he could is as much to blame."

The authenticity of Savage's storytelling can often culminate in a bleak, if exhilarating, climax. While this may be the case with Freefall, Savage hints towards a more upbeat conclusion.

"I don't like to offer false hope, but what this one does is offer light and shade. It's no euphoric ending as that's not true to the situation, but I do offer some grains of optimism."