A Falmouth-based actor who recently filmed in Cornwall with a How I Met Your Mother star has just finished producing his first full-length feature.

Former Hollyoaks actor Craig Russell's new film Canaries was created in America, Vietnam, London and the small Welsh village of Cwmtwrch, and hopes any success will help him gain support for more productions based in the south west.

Canaries tells the story of an alien invasion which coincides with a New Year's Eve party in a small Welsh village, and stars friends of Craig including Richard Mylan, of Coupling and Waterloo Road, BAFTA winner Aled Pugh of Stella, Steven Meo of Gavin and Stacey, Kai Owen of Torchwood, and Robert Pugh of Game of Thrones.

According to Craig the film, which he described as a sci-fi comedy horror in the same vein as Shaun of the Dead and Attack the Block, started out as "a film by friends for friends" but grew into "something far bigger."

Despite being filmed on a budget of less than £30,000, Craig said people have "just fallen in love with the project. We are getting contacted by people all over the world about this."

And he revealed that he originally hadn't wanted to produce it, but was approached by writer Peter Stray after securing funding from a New York backer.

He added: "I was desperate to get it made."

Craig, who is married to actress and Penryn native Kate Edney, who he met when he was performing at the Hall for Cornwall, and the couple returned to the county to raise their son.

He said: "Like everyone, I've fallen in love with the place. The aim is to use this as a launch pad to make films in Cornwall.

"I worked on Songbird [UK comedy film to be released later this year] filmed in Cornwall. I kept in touch with [How I Met Your Mother star] Cobie Smulders, who said she loved it so much here she wanted to come back.

"Everyone loves Cornwall. We've got the sea, the moors, beautiful fishing villages, towns like Penryn and Falmouth, it's brilliant. It's a fantastic place to work and perform."

Craig said he "learned a lot" during the filming for Canaries, and that he wanted his second film to be shot in Cornwall, "and then I just want to make films in the south west, between here and Wales."

He added: "I'm so happy to be living here, I want to put it on screen.

"I'm proud to be married to someone from a Cornish family, my son is from here, and I owe a lot to the place. I want to do something about it."

Canaries is currently in post-production, with Craig carrying out promotional work around the country, and hoping to screen the film in Falmouth when it is released.