Ring A King

A cabbie lies dead in his taxi, head rocked back and bloodied, while an asthmatic man calmy stands nearby.

This is the world of private-hire cabs, who go to places black cabs won't touch to earn their corn. Naz is one of them, trying to earn a crust but with three cab drivers dead in recent months, how do you know your next fare won't be your last?

This engaging short film has an interesting premise. Much is made of people getting into private-hire cabs and bad things happening - but it is easy to forget that there is risk to the driver as well.

Nakib Narat is excellent as the cleanliness-conscious Naz who we follow through a day's worth of fares. The direction, too, is tight, although it sports some rather unecessary tics. Words flash up on cards, like subliminal advertising, serving only to make you think of that strange and overused genre of films that has sprung up in recent years - the Guy Ritchie-esque cockerney crime drama.

Flash cards aside, however, this movie is clever, maintaining suspense and exploring racism which insinuates itself into the corners of Naz's life. This film has lots to say in just ten minutes and that is, ultimately, one of its failings, its scattergun attack leaving you feeling like you're in a cab yourself, continually driving around and looking at new places but never truly arriving at a destination.