When debutant filmmaker Ravi Muppa read about a girl rescued from human traffickers because a flight attendant noticed signs that something wasn’t right, he immediately knew he wanted to explore it on the screen. As he began developing the story, he found himself thinking about the discovery of hidden cameras in hotel rooms and other supposedly private spaces. From there, was born Incognito, Muppa’s short film that premièred on YouTube on July 15.

“The film isn’t about human trafficking or voyeurism. It’s about complicity — about what happens when an ordinary person is confronted with an impossible moral choice,” said the director. The short follows a motel receptionist who profits off hidden-cam videos, until he records a girl in danger of being trafficked and must decide whether to save her or protect himself.