In the mix of the media frenzy surrounding the current refugee crisis in Syria and the unfortunate events in Paris emerges a tragically honest short by up-and-coming directors Naomi Fold and Ella Syrett. The first full short from the pair, Syrett and Fold, ‘Alien’ challenges the medias portrayal of refugees and the impact thats having on the public.
‘Alien’ stars Theo Moore making his acting debut, Moore gives an intelligently typical angsty performance as a teenager in a bad place. Director-turned-actor Jamie Jao also features in the film playing a soldier who appears to suffer at the hands of ignorance.
The in this low-budget short echoes that of ‘A Favour’ (Virgin Media Shorts 2013) with similar paralleling techniques at the start also following the same purpose of challenging the medias stereotypes. This is the pairs first full short, although they explored a different territory in a thriller opening about two co-workers commenting a crime (2014’s White Collar Complex). This protest short is a seamless and subversive meshing of documentary and fiction, the fast montage of the news reports reminding the audience in an emotional punch that this is a real happening issue.
It is perhaps so powerful because it preserves the crucial truth that its protagonist was blindly following the crowd. A common theme with young influential teenagers desperate to fit in within this self obsessed society.
The story sees us follow Kasimir played by Moore as he protests against refugees coming to England and the soldier played by Jao which culminates with an almost meeting at the protest. It ends with an ironic twist fitting with the social realism style. The film is pitched towards young audiences of the present clearly commenting on the current refugee emergency. The limited use of script engages the audiences to follow the narrative and adamantly refuses to become predictable.
The characters further help to orient the film towards the complex inhumanity of the experience of being a refugee.
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