In 2014, the world was shaken by the brutal execution of 21 Coptic Christian men in Libya, a tragic event that became a symbol of faith and resilience. These men, mostly Egyptian migrant workers, were kidnapped and later beheaded by ISIS, their final moments marked by unwavering devotion.
Now, the short film The 21 brings their story to the screen, honouring their sacrifice and ensuring their legacy is never forgotten. Through powerful storytelling and striking visuals, the film offers a poignant tribute to their courage.
Some have had issues with the movie, talking about the fact that many of the characters are drawn the same way. This goes for the Islamic State militants and the 21 Coptic men.
What reviewers had to say
Here is a summarised version of a featured review of the short film The 21, which gave it a 9/10 – here is what they had to say:
The 21 is a visually stunning and emotionally powerful animated short film that honors the 21 men executed by ISIS in 2015. Through a unique “neo-Coptic iconography” art style, it transforms their story into a moving tribute to faith and resilience. The film balances artistic expression with deep respect for its subject matter, using striking visuals, precise editing, and a minimalist soundtrack to heighten its impact. More than just a memorial, The 21 reflects on fear, faith, and human strength, making it an unforgettable and essential work of art.
My takeaway
One thing I disliked about The 21 was not really the way the whole film was drawn but with how they chose to draw the Coptic men and the ISIS militants. Most of the Coptic men at times were drawn as the same, or were drawn as very similar. In my opinion this took away from the fact that they were different men, each with their own individual lives.
All of the militants are drawn as big, over towering, monsters 6-7 foot high with wide shoulders and crazy uniformed eyes which were all the shape of a triangle.
It’s almost as if they were drawn as non-autonomous monsters with no real control over their actions. It drew them as robots. If anything, you’d make the Coptic men much larger in size, if not a little bigger to symbolise their bravery, courage and overall strength over the ISIS militants.
We’ve all seen videos of ISIS from Syria, Iraq and Libya. We know what they look like. They are no different from any other local group which takes up arms and begins doing the evil that they do.
Illustrating them in this way distances them from the actions of a human being. In my opinion what they did was completly demonic and unforgivable, and those actions should be tied to real humans, real men who can be found, tried and punished accordingly for their crimes.
This was just my opinion however, and I can understand given the Christian background of the production team why they would want to illustrate them this way in The 21.
It was a great short film and one I look forward to showing to other people who are intrested in this topic, since after the fall of the Syrian Government in December, ISIS is making a clear resurgence.
More from short films
If you’re still on the lookout for some more short films, make sure to read my review of Junkyard below!