The film is a romance nestled within a philosophical engagement that develops between two lovers. Though not devoid of its darkness, it paints a dreamy landscape with its screenplay and visual grammar to bring this reality to life. 

The narrative is an endeavor in drawing a distinction between being in pain and self-hate, and the manifestation that the two take for our characters. They are star-crossed lovers, but of a kind where the obstacles to their love are not external, but instead an instrument of their own minds. A realm of self-harm, substance abuse, and addiction, with a constant threat of violence, is presented to the viewer alongside one of intimacy and affection. 

All of this is portrayed with notable camerawork, woven seamlessly with the overall texture and tonality of the film. The film’s thematic and philosophical explorations could perhaps go a little deeper under the surface in future endeavors, in a manner where the creative sentiment is at par with the technical prowess already exhibited in the end result.

Love, Pills and a Pistol | Short Film Nominee

The documentary introduces us to two women, both of whom are tied by the common thread of listening. Located on either side of this emotional pursuit, their stories are artfully employed to speak of the importance of listening, as well as feeling heard. In the process, a heartfelt narrative about listening as a device to protect yourself in moments of extreme stress, alongside the ability to be heard in a way that frees you from the oppressive burdens that weigh you down, comes into existence. 

The film introduces the viewer to two women, Ulrike Draesner and Tanja, both powerful voices with equally compelling stories to share. As the narrative paints a life inflicted with trauma and abuse, it also presents the empowering triumph over them all, to eventually free oneself from the shackles of external social expectations and the internal struggles of guilt and shame. A few rough edges in terms of control over the visuals make themselves known, but they are overcome notably with a screenplay construction and visual grammar that make the most of limited resources.

I Hear You! | Short Film Nominee

Diamond is a social media personality with deeply problematic and questionable choices. All her celebrity is drawn from blackfishing - the act of changing your appearance to look like a person of color. 

Though Diamond is not devoid of voices and characters that constantly attack these decisions, as well as express a well-placed sense of rage and being wronged, she continues to appropriate a culture with a long history of cruelties inflicted upon them to serve her own purposes. The narrative presents a lucid and earnest voice in engaging with these thematic concerns, ensuring that the messaging is loud and clear. 

The conclusion truly drives the horror home of a bloodied history that is not to be belittled in the name of social media currency or petty personal ambitions, and in the process, presents a crucially relevant story.

The Figure | Short Film Nominee

The film opens with a troubled reality, and located at its centre is Saurabh, a man who battles several burdens of longing, separation, and grief. Between visuals of a happier past and a present that is far removed from it, the story is conjured for the viewer. It is one about parenthood, and its many aches if a father is denied that role. 

Now separated from his daughter, Kriti, he attempts to find a way back to her by stepping into the world of a sci-fi story she once wrote and shared with him. Much of the action unfolds by way of long, sustained visuals, devoid of all dialogue. 

The screenplay is constructed thoughtfully. The choice of the background score elevates it further, ensuring that the few raw edges in terms of visuals are easier to overlook. The storytelling further leverages the power of AI to bring all of it to life, while ensuring its voice remains clear and well-defined all along.

The Pod | Short Film Nominee

The film opens during a rushed morning for Maya, while her daughter Dia too heads out for her exam. On the table, a biology textbook lies on the sidelines as Dia sketches into her notebook. 

The tone of the film immediately establishes a mother-daughter equation marked by love and affection. Though this sentiment comes to define the entirety of the relationship unfolding before us, a crisis arises in the form of a crucial disagreement between the two characters. A debate on the larger idea of being an artist versus following a more pragmatic career path, like that of becoming a doctor, and especially what it means for a first-generation immigrant family, further positions itself within the plot. 

The characters bring to life notable performances that are defined by their easy chemistry. The entirety of the storytelling takes place within the confines of a single house, using it to the fullest to evoke a sense of intimacy. The viewer is eventually left with an uplifting story, alongside a reminder about the importance of honest and well-meaning communication.

Butterscotch | Short Film Nominee

The film’s reality is one of complexities and nuances, and yet, the ideas are presented to the audience with unmissable ease and clarity. The narrative straddles a sense of the past and the present. 

A woman is swiftly losing her grasp on her memories, forgetting more than she can remember. The fear and heartbreak that this flow of events ushers in is mapped against a beautiful, bright summer where a young woman is the constant companion of the older, ageing one. 

Through the interactions of the two, perhaps the woman’s interactions with her own self, we are presented a thoughtful realm of stories, the pain of separation even if sometimes it is the very cost of existence itself, and the pressing, urgent need to let go, if one is to truly accept the inexorable movement of time. All of this is constructed with a visual landscape that is evocative and skilled in its control and in all that it conveys. The screenplay and the performances only serve to strengthen it further, alongside a tonality and approach to writing and storytelling that should definitely be engaged with further in more such endeavors.

Everything in This World Is Exactly What It Is | Short Film Nominee

The short film shares an entire array of events and emotional realities within its capsule-sized realm. It presents to us a couple about to close in on a deal for a new house when some shocking new information is brought to light. Alongside this development, a quiet observer also makes herself known, but not in a manner the viewer would expect. The conversation progresses, and another dark event of the recent past nestles itself within the story, one that can potentially alter the course of this deal. 
The film exhibits potential and investment of thought at the level of story and the manner in which the two sets of narratives, the observer and the couple, come to overlap. It also utilizes the same physical space to let it all unfold, presenting all its intentions with efficiency and an economy of resources. In the future, longer projects with this approach to storytelling would surely soar higher.

Closing Day | Short Film Nominee

Fiona has arrived at her son Dalton’s house to spend time with him and his new partner, Bram, after nearly three years of little to no contact. Dalton has not only recently separated from his wife of five years but has also given up custody of his two kids. 

Despite the distance or resentment that may have crept in the three years, however, or the emotional travails of a recently failed marriage, it is something else entirely that preoccupies Fiona, who soon realises she has far bigger fish to fry. While Bram, at first glance, might have come across as a distant but mostly harmless presence, the ensuing narrative leaves Fiona with a more disturbing realisation. The short film ropes in all of this, and some more, with humor and an unmissable antagonist in Bram, whose portrayal becomes a notable strength of the film. 

The humor intrinsic to the film is further brought to life with writing and storytelling that both exhibit promise and potential. Though not entirely without rough edges, the end result of the film is colorful and entertaining in equal measure and paves the path for more such endeavors in the future.

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