Red | Short Film | Ida Ali

After her mother’s warning to “stay safe,” 18-year-old Ruby moves towns to care for her ailing, near-paralyzed grandmother. Ruby has no friends or companions there. Lonely and curious, Ruby defies her mother’s warning and starts an Instagram account befriending anyone who follows her. She even starts instagram live to try and find friends in her area. Among the viewers of her live is Hunter, predator who fixates on her and begins tracking clues from her posts. Spotting a street sign in one of Ruby’s photos, Hunter locates her grandmother’s house and stalks Ruby through town, then engineers a “meet-cute” at a café by returning her fallen handkerchief. Charming on the surface but predatory underneath, he flirts with Ruby feigning friendship. He steals her lipstick-marked glass, and later slips into her grandmother’s house when he finds the door unlocked. Hunter steps into Ruby’s world and starts to understand her situation, leaving him surprised and changing his world forever. This story is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault.