How to Hide It (2026)
There is a genuinely intriguing moral knot at the centre of How to Hide It, the short film co-written and co-directed by Ramla Ali and Richard A. Moore, and for thirteen minutes it packs in a surprising amount of story. I caught it at the BFI London Film Festival, and while a frustrating ending stopped it landing as fully as it might have, there is plenty to like here. Three stars.
The premise is a neat one. Zahra, a young Muslim woman reeling from a humiliating breakup, has a moment of weakness and plays a forbidden lottery ticket, only for that small transgression to balloon into a full-blown spiritual crisis. Where her coworker can only dream of the riches, Zahra is certain Allah is watching and waiting, and the film sits in that uncomfortable gap between temptation and faith, between the fantasy of escape and the weight of conscience. It is a smart, specific way into a very universal feeling of guilt.
Ali, who also stars as Zahra, is good company in the role, and some of the film's best moments come from the comedy. The dialogue between Zahra and her parents is genuinely funny, sharply observed in that way that will ring true to anyone who has tried to keep something from family who miss nothing, and it gives the film a warmth that balances the heavier questions underneath. There is real pedigree behind it too, with Idris and Sabrina Elba among the executive producers, and you can feel the care in the making.
It also sounds great. The music, with contributions from the likes of Jacob Banks and Tiggs da Author, is a real asset, giving the whole thing a cool, contemporary texture that suits Zahra's world, and Jasper Enujuba's camerawork keeps it looking sharp and stylish throughout. For a short, it is confidently put together.
My one real gripe, and it is a notable one, is the ending. After setting up its dilemma so well, the film arrives at a conclusion I found genuinely unsatisfying, the kind that leaves you feeling the story has stopped rather than resolved, as though the richest part of the moral question has been left hanging. It is a shame, because so much of what precedes it is engaging. Three stars. How to Hide It is a well-made, well-acted and often funny short with a clever premise and a great soundtrack, let down mainly by a finish that does not quite pay off everything it builds. Worth a look, even so.
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