Film fans are rediscovering In Camera, a 2023 surreal British drama by Naqqash Khalid, which has been hailed as an “overlooked treasure.” The film, featuring stars from BBC’s Call the Midwife and Industry, is now available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer.
Star-Studded Cast
The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast led by Nabhaan Rizwan, who plays a young actor trapped in a cycle of nightmarish auditions. After multiple rejections, his character Aden takes it upon himself to find a new part to play. Rizwan is joined by Call the Midwife star Josie Walker, The Crown’s Amir El-Masry, and Waterloo Road actress Sarah-Jane Potts.
Synopsis and Vision
A synopsis from Togetherfilms reads: “Written and directed by Naqqash Khalid, the film defies conventional filmmaking norms, crafting a thought-provoking dialogue between the observer and the observed. In Camera offers a satirical commentary on contemporary race politics, showcasing both Rizwan’s remarkable talent and Khalid’s bold vision as a storyteller.” Speaking to Screen in 2020 when he was named a UK-Ireland Star of Tomorrow, writer Khalid described the project as “a fairytale about ambition, performance and identity” structured “like a concept album.”
Critical and Fan Reception
Rizwan told Gentleman’s Journal: “In the first conversation I had with Naqqash, he told me that filmmaking should only be an act of invention. And so the process of making In Camera was to do just that, and dispel any rules and conventions we’d learned along the way.” Fans have praised the film online, with one writing: “The film is at its best when Khalid lets us sit in a discomfiting moment… In Camera doesn’t always hang together, but when it snaps into focus it’s an audacious and exciting picture to experience.” Another added: “The focussed, internalised tone is powerfully involving, leading the audience into intensely provocative places. This is bracingly ambitious filmmaking, performed with daring audacity by Nabhaan Rizwan. And it’s often devastatingly sharp.”
