As smartphones continue to become even more advanced, it seems like smartphone theft has only gone up as thieves come up with new ways to disable their stolen goods. But what happens to a phone after it gets taken? Student filmmaker Anthony van der Meer asked that question after his own phone was stolen in Amsterdam. And the result was an intriguing new short documentary film, Find My Phone.

Via The Next Web, van der Meer set up a sting with a new smartphone loaded with spyware, only to find that it wasn’t that easy to get it stolen again. When a thief finally took the bait, van der Meer didn’t manage to film the event. However, the man who took his phone neglected to take steps to protect his identity. Van der Meer used that as an opportunity to spy on the man for weeks while documenting it on camera, which led to the release of Find My Phone.

While watching the man, whose photos are obscured in the film, van der Meer began to feel an odd sort of kinship towards the thief who had stolen his phone. With so many details about his life available to van der Meer, it was almost as if he knew the man. But when van der Meer attempted to track down the thief and see him in person, the result was unexpected.

What did you think about Find My Phone? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Image: Anthony van der Meer