AN award-winning screenwriter has released a controversial film about a man who befriends a teenage boy online.

Director Sam Baron, 26, teamed up with producer Emily Precious at Ealing Studios to make the short film, which aims to address the stigma around online friendships.

Windscreenwiperman, a reference to main character Simon Attwood’s online username, took five days to shoot in Barnes.

Sam, whose previous short films have more than 4.5 million hits on YouTube, said: “The username draws attention to the fact that he’s chosen to be anonymous.

“Some people think he’s chosen to hide his real name because, deep down, he knows what he’s doing is weird or wrong.”

A recent winner of the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, Sam hopes the film will stimulate conversations about our global addiction to social media.

He said: "We are all spending more and more of our daily life online, yet I feel like attitudes to the internet are still stuck in the past.

“Very few films have addressed the themes which are now dominating our social routines. I wanted to get people talking about these topics and thinking about their own pre-conceptions in a new way."

The biggest challenge for Sam was finding interesting ways to show people having online conversations on film.

He said: “In the end, we decided the answer was to actually go inside the computer screen for several long sequences, to simulate the real experience of being online.”

The filmmaker explained he had been making short films since he was 12 with the co-writer and star of the film Raphael von Blumenthal – who himself uses chatrooms to meet new friends all over the world.

“When he told me about this, I thought it was weird, but he couldn’t see why,” said Sam. “I presented every argument to him, but he would always undermine my objections with sensible, logical answers.”

Raphael, 27, who plays the main character, believes online friendships between teenagers and adults can be beneficial for both parties.

He said: “I think there have to be safeguards in place. of course, and that the adult has to declare his intentions.

“But, ultimately, I think a familial, mentor-type bond can be beneficial to both the teenager and the adult. For me, connecting with people, regardless of age or location or any other specification, is an incredibly important and enriching aspect of life.

“I'm sure that, as a teenage boy, I'd have embraced meeting somebody that could have told me a little about the world. Indeed, I wish I had given my school teachers a little more time and respect.

“Of course, there are countless stories of older men preying on younger boys, but to dismiss a potentially healthy and normal relationship seems a bit brash.”

The pair said they realised how deeply ingrained the social stigma around online friendships remains and wanted to use this to fuel the tension in an unexpectedly innocent story about an online friendship.

Actor Joe Hurst from BBC'S The Casual Vacancy stars as the teenage boy in the low-budget film.

Windscreenwiperman is available to watch online via https://vimeo.com/118654779