Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
The short film “Unknown”, directed by Ahmed Zitouni, was presented Saturday evening in preview, at the Algerian Cinematheque. This 14-minute thriller, which subtly explores the anxieties and threats inherent in the digital age, plunged the general public into a dark and mysterious universe.
The film tells the story of Salima, a painter whose peaceful routine is disrupted by the discovery of a mobile phone abandoned in the street. Intrigued by this mysterious object, she decides to take it home, unaware that she is about to cross the border into a terrifying nightmare.
From the very first moments, the film’s atmosphere is one of palpable tension. Zitouni uses tight framing and subdued lighting to create a sense of oppression and isolation. The music, discreet but omnipresent, accentuates the anxiety that builds crescendo as the plot unfolds.
As Salima tries to understand the origin of the phone and find its owner, she finds herself confronted with a series of threatening calls from people demanding that she return the phone to a certain Khaled by midnight. Each ring becomes a source of increasing terror, and the young woman feels increasingly isolated and vulnerable.
Under the influence of growing terror, Salima mechanically begins to draw on the floor of her apartment symbols in the shape of an eight, representing an infinite loop that symbolizes the spiral of fear in which she is trapped. Seeking refuge in this instinctive gesture, she lies down on the drawing, as if to sink into an imaginary world far from the threat that awaits her.
But reality catches up with her brutally. Jumping up, she grabs the cell phone, the source of her torment, and throws it violently out the window, as if to get rid of a cursed object. A young man, an involuntary witness to the scene, sees the phone fall at her feet and picks it up.
However, fate seemed to strike the young woman. Hypnotized, she called the unknown number and repeated the same terrifying threat: “Meet Khaled on the phone before midnight, or you will regret it.”
The film subtly explores the universal themes of fear of the unknown, loss of control and the impact of technology on our lives. Faced with an invisible and omnipresent threat, Salima finds herself confronted with her own inner demons and the fragility of her mental health. The line between reality and fiction blurs, and she begins to doubt everything and everyone.
Zitouni’s debut film stands out for its careful and intelligent direction. The director uses a precise and effective cinematic language to create an unbearable tension and keep the viewer in suspense until the last minute. The film is carried by a magnificent performance by Nardjes Asli, who brilliantly embodies the fear, confusion and distress of his character.
The film won the Jury Prize at the Imedghassen Short Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Saida Women’s Literature and Cinema Festival and the Best Monthly Short Film Award in March-April at IndoDubai. It was entered into the Short Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.