By: Javier Ferrer R-Rey
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 08/17//2026 – Screening at HollyShorts, the UK Spotlight Section this Friday 21st at 2:30pm, Black Cab is so much more than a story of a cab driver and his struggles against the new forms of transportation. Writer, director James Arden tells us all about it in this interview.
This short film grips you from the very start with its raw cinematography mixed with some special effects simulating what an electric car sees. The mix between using film while telling a story in the near future works perfectly and it takes you on an unforgettable ride.
The film follows Harry, a third-generation cab driver in London who struggles to find his place in a fast-changing world.
Even if Harry struggles to have passengers in his cab, we’re the privileged ones to sit by his side and experience his torments and desires as he takes us from place to place in the streets of London. And during this ride the tension slowly starts to build up like a ticking bomb until it explodes in a fascinating climax that ties everything together.
Director’s statement:
Black Cab is, at its core, a family drama about a man trying to hold on to his sense of purpose as a husband, father and provider, in a world quickly leaving him behind.
I wanted to make this film now because the script’s themes are so current – autonomous cars are starting to appear on London’s streets in 2026. In a wider sense, all of us are concerned about what the future holds, and I think we can all relate to wanting to preserve our place in the world. Harry is just a normal person, like us all, facing great change.
Over two years of research and development went into the script – interviewing real cab drivers and gaining real insight into a fast-changing industry. It’s easy to get caught up in exciting technological developments without considering the wider social impact on individual people. Car technology is a perfect example of this: the convenience of Uber; the allure of a self-driving Tesla or Waymo. But all those people who make their living behind the wheel – cabbies, truck drivers, delivery drivers, emergency services drivers – will soon have to find new work, and millions will be left by the wayside.
I wanted to tell a story about an individual dealing with this developing crisis; how it affects him and his family life. Work identity defines so many of us – especially men as earners, providers and protectors – something Harry, despite his optimism, can’t escape when reality hits.
As James points out in his director’s statement, this film is about change and how Harry, and us as people, face these new changes that are coming with the growing technologies. Be it the self-driving cars or AI.
All in all, this short film will leave you thinking about how truly important it is to have a human behind any type of job or activity. And in this case, as a cab driver, how essential and unappreciated it can be to have a conversation with someone who, even if you don’t know, you can completely trust. As we can all do with cab drivers in our ride home from the screening at Hollyshorts this Friday 21st at 2:30 pm on the UK Spotlight Section.
Review: 4.5/5
Watch the interview here:
