Trama

In Camera follows Aden - played by Rizwan - a young Actor who's in a cycle of nightmarish auditions. After he receives multiple rejections, Aden takes it upon himself to find a new part to play.

The boundaries between the "real" and the imaginary get blurred, intertwined, and redefined in this British debut that traces the path of a young actor determined to take center stage in his own life. Tired of awkward auditions, repeated rejections, and playing dead bodies in TV series, Aiden decides it's time to take on a new role, away from the cameras, wanting to construct the narrative of his life himself. And probably without being prepared for the consequences. In a world where even our own self-image may often seem like a construct, In Camera unfolds as a moral and intellectual puzzle about the fragmented nature of modern existence and even reality itself. A sardonic and often humorous, existential quasi-thriller about the roles we are called upon to play and the fluid, disorienting nature of the here-and-now.—Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Twenty-something Aden (Nabhaan Rizwan) dreams of becoming a successful actor, but the nightmarish grind of the audition circuit, with its callous rejections and upsetting micro-aggressions, is starting to take its toll. It doesn't help that his junior doctor flatmate Bo (Rory Fleck Byrne) is also stressed to the point of burnout. But when self-assured fashion and lifestyle guru Conrad (Amir El-Masry) moves in, his optimism and confidence inspires Aden to take it upon himself to find a new part to play. Full of pointed observations about an industry rife with prejudice and hypocrisy, In Camera deploys elements of surrealism and fantasy to trace how its young British-Asian protagonist's sense of self is affected by the tokenism of a world he hopes to conquer. Candid and funny, with an unsettling eye for the warped and bizarre, it's a playful, stylish satire, not just of showbiz, but also of how the myriad absurdities of modern British life have created a new generation of anxious young men. With a complex and supple central performance from rising star Rizwan and a soundtrack by Clark, this debut film from director Naqqash Khalid heralds an exciting new voice in British cinema.—Conic