DJ, filmmaker and founder of east London’s biggest music festival Lovebox, Ross Clarke, has just launched his new film Dermaphoria which premiered at the East London Film Festival.

The neo-noir psychological thriller, set in New Orleans, is described as Memento meets Breaking Bad.

The story follows Eric, a chemist suffering from amnesia who is hounded by drug gangs after his formula and police that want to arrest him.

Plagued by flashbacks, the cinematography mirrors Eric’s fragmented state of mind as the audience is let into his consciousness and his urge to find his missing girlfriend.

Ross said: “I’ve always been interested in sort of a crime genre and the underbelly of different societies. The film is a poetic puzzle-thriller and a love letter to New Orleans.

“The city has a ramshackle glory to it.”

The film boasts an all-star cast including Ron Perlman and Walton Goggins of Sons of Anarchy and The Vampire Diaries’ Joseph Morgan. Ross was behind award-winning documentary Skid Row that recorded rapper Pras Michele’s nine-day experience living among LA’s homeless. Before that he frequented the East End club circuit, putting on nights at 333 and branding Lovebox into a full-blown festival.

He said: “This idea of Lovebox is just something that grew over time.

“We had people like Harvey, Mr Scruff and Groove Armada and it became relatively easy to grow once we had a momentum. It helps if you are passionate about something.”

Ross is taking his filmmaking even further with several projects in the pipeline, including a documentary about Brazilian footballer and political writer Sócrates and a series based on Derek Raymond’s cult Factory novels.

Watch Dermaphoria’s trailer on the East End Festival Youtube channel.