The Bike Thief

Feature film written and directed by Matt Chambers, produced by Lene Bausager, Sophia Gibber & Peregrine Kitchener-Fellowes. 2019

Starring BIFA-nominated Alec Secareanu (God's Own Country) and BAFTA-winner Anamaria Marinca (4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days).

A modern update on Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist classic Bicycle Thieves, Matt Chambers’ feature debut pays the same attention and care to the day-to-day struggles of the urban working class. The film closely follows a pizza delivery man on his scooter as he zips through traffic, his figure wrapped in the hues of city lights. The character’s namelessness places him in a generalised working class, but the film also fleshes out the specifics of Romanian immigrant life in London, beautifully imbued with a wealth of visual details. The vastness of the big city contrasts with the cramped apartment that he shares with his wife Elena, their teenage daughter and baby. Though a testament to financial hardship, this space also glows with a familial tenderness. However, all of this threatens to fall apart when his scooter is stolen, prompting the mild-mannered Rider to embark on a dark path.

Since its release in 2021, it has been streamed on Amazon Prime and picked up a nomination for the BIFA Discovery Award.