Awarded by the Visibility Film Festival 2021 for ‘Best Experimental’, this short film pulls us into a bizarre black and white setting. A black backdrop with masked figures who mimic each other as they type continuously on their phones and then look up again.

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If you like theatrical techniques, then this short is probably the one for you. Whilst the appearance and filming technique of the short is simple, it is contextually rich and full of philosophy. The short is inspired by Republic, a book written by Plato around 375 BC.

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Tabatabay explores Plato’s philosophy of how politics can manipulate the masses. He does this by presenting a dark room full of masked figures, using the theatrical technique of ‘Le Masque Neutre’ which translates to ‘the neutral mask’.

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As the figures are all masked, this creates a mass of identical people, essentially stripped of identity. We are only left to concentrate on their actions and body language.

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Even without understanding the context of Plato’s philosophy, this short is massively symbolic. The repetitive churning of the tape creates a haunting sense of monotonous action that never comes to anything interesting.

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The masked figures looking down at their phones caters to the notion of modern-day consumerism, an addiction to our phones which we all generally contribute towards.

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The appearance of the masked figures could be depicted as the way society is viewed by capitalism. When one of the figures enters the outside world, they are punished. This indicates being a slave to the system and any way of escape or expression of individualism is punished.

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Though this short film has little actually happening, Tabatabay impressively manages to convey its philosophical meaning. The performance art of the sinister masked figures, the churning tape, and the light turning on and off creates a display of regimented routine in which all the figures are trapped within.

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The viewer is left with hardly anything, just as the masked figures are stuck in a room of nothingness. Yet there is a possibility of infinite space hiding in the dark that they have only been allowed to see a glimpse of.

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The more you think about this short film, the more there is to say. That’s the definition of a powerful film.