The plight of unhoused people and the growing epidemic of elderly loneliness and disability hardship are at the center of Tj O’Grady Peyton’s Room Taken. The short film, written by Michael Whelan and executive produced by Colin Farrell, centers on Isaac (Gabriel Adewusi), a newly arrived immigrant to Ireland from Nigeria who struggles to find a stable place to lay his head. He then comes across Victoria (Brid Brennan), a recently widowed elderly blind woman who lives alone and takes the opportunity to secretly stay at her home unnoticed as he awaits news of better accommodations.

In its 17-minute runtime, Room Taken navigates humanist themes such as the hardship faced by asylum seekers and the lack of proper services for the unhoused population in Ireland. It also includes themes of grief and isolation for elderly citizens as they suffer the loss of their partners or experience an onset of disability from aging.