2011 in a year when the political power had shifted in to the hands of social media and created riots and revolutions in both the Arab world and Europe, a young injured student already laying down gets robbed on a street in Tottenham. The event went viral and the robber, Esau became the face of evil and opportunism. In a art film depicting the domain of the prejudice, we travel in the foot steps of Esau.
During protests in London in 2011, a young man was caught on picture stealing from an injured activist. The man is identified as Esau Essadi Green and the action precipitates an online storm of threats and hate against him. Lode Kuylenstiernas film is many-sidedjust as much a Paul Auster-like detective story as a low-key commentary on digital society, which creates victims and perpetrators instantlytheres no time to critique sources. The title refers to a kind of person without rights in the Roman Empire. These people were accused of crimes, but not allowed to be sacrificed to the gods yet they could be killed without legal consequence. Todays quick, superficial media seems to have taken over the role as judge and jury from the Romans.
