9 Square Meters for Two is the result of an experiment that took place in Baumettes Prison in Marseille, France. A purpose built set using the same dimensions as a standard cell’nine square meters’was constructed within the prison, then 10 inmates were given basic training in filming techniques and encouraged to create whatever they wanted.

The result is a series of stories most of which focus on the minutiae of prison life: constant cups of tea or coffee, cutting each other’s hair, listening to music, reading, playing scrabble, trying to fill the hours. These have the feel of a documentary, with their single, long, out of focus shots and rough framing capturing some sort of reality.

All created with one handheld camera’never leaving the cell, never showing other inmates or guards, focusing on the here and now, with little exploration of the inmates’ history or future, and little sense of a world beyond the four walls. We only once get a glimpse of the outside, showing other cells exactly the same as the one we’re in.

There are also more scripted stories: stories about music, getting out, rebuilding lives, and the tensions that such a restricted space creates. This is a constant reminder that the film isn’t a documentary, but an experiment; it’s not made for an audience but for the inmates, to give them a chance to express themselves. It’s concerned with looking out, not looking in; but watching it, in all of its claustrophobic, grey, monotony, you can see glimpses of the truth that the film is trying to communicate. As one of the prisoners states, nobody outside really knows what it’s like to be in prison, but 9 Square Meters for Two shows enough to appreciate the bleakness of prison life.