The estrangement of a couple of months precedes the meeting the film presents to the viewer. The awkwardness nestled in the separation soon diffuses as the two sisters before us begin their exchange. 

What starts with banter and innocent hesitation turns into an extremely heated argument in a heartbeat, swiftly bringing the many issues and undercurrents that define a familial dynamic to the fore. It also pronounces the sentiment established in the title of the film. This escalation within the plot arrives with ease, both as a result of the performances as well as the construction of the narrative. 

The limited physical space of a single room thus comes to stand for several unresolved issues between the sisters, presenting a concise endeavor that displays a natural affinity towards storytelling, and the promise of more similar emotional explorations in the future.

Spite | Short Film Nominee

The film balances itself on the backs of several worlds. From an element of surrealism and sci-fi to action and a heist story, from intimacy to sensuality, it includes different aspects to present its reality to the viewer. Music remains an integral component of this landscape, that is further coupled with animation to bring the vision to life. 

The film starts off with a bank robbery but soon traverses into realms very different from what the viewer might have expected at first glance. All of this remains a conscious choice as the film explores intimacy, both sexual and platonic, friendship and love. It is further tied with bigger questions about existence and survival, and what it means to co-exist in harmony as a society. The myriad elements are beaded together in the narrative which, though sometimes runs the danger of becoming slightly loose, eventually sees itself home. The journey it completes is an endeavor of colors, emotions and an earnest desire to delineate all of its intentions.

Gidi Gidi Gi | Short Film Nominee

The film has a singularity of tone that becomes its most defining characteristic. One night while delivering a pizza, Rylee ends up at Jesse’s doorstep, her former boyfriend who has moved houses since the end of their relationship. If this was not uncomfortable enough, her car gets broken into, with her wallet and crucial items stolen. 

As Jesse and Rylee come together to go on a wild goose chase based on evidence they have gathered from the site of theft, the film not only presents a story of suspense but also a personal emotional journey the two undertake vis-a-vis their relationship. While there is chemistry and suggestion of romance in the narrative, there is also intrigue and adventure. Not all aspects of the film take themselves too seriously, and that seems to be a deliberate choice within the realm of the detective story. The end result, albeit not without a few snags in terms of production, presents a completed trajectory of the two characters, and how the chaos around them ensures this completion.

Personal Pizza | Short Film Nominee

Madison and Dereck meet for a first date after connecting on a dating app, and the most disparate experience unfolds. The two, a millennial and a GenZ, inhabit a different space regarding social etiquettes, cultural approaches, and most importantly, what they seek from this equation. The narrative presents a zealous endeavor to explore the same. 

There is also a discussion around how disappointing, empty, and frustrating the entire modern dating experience can be, especially for someone who is not familiar with its many aspects, unlike another a few years younger than them. 

Though occasionally evidencing a young voice when it comes to storytelling, the end result exhibits potential that can and should be explored further. Additionally, the film displays the intention to engage, without going too deep into its many complexities, owing primarily to the short film form and the lighthearted approach of the story unfolding before us, with the loneliness, regret, and heartbreak that can sometimes define a romantic relationship.

Dereck From Hinge | Short Film Nominee

A couple has recently moved in together, and they’re both only just beginning to learn to navigate their lives around and with each other. When Simon asks to re-arrange some parts of the house so as to accommodate his personality as well in this new space, the viewer is made privy to the quickly unraveling thoughts in Marcy’s head. 

The panic and anxiety around having her porn stash (with the most interesting pun concealed within the layers of the narrative) come to the fore. In the process, the viewer is presented with an endearing plot, not minus its moments of secrecy and high tension. 

The short duration of the film is complete with impeccable chemistry between the actors, strong as individual performers as well as a unit, along with wonderful writing, with one of the most notable aspects of the film being the seamless background score. Even though the film loses some points when it comes to control over its visual quality, all of these elements together give rise to a product that is engaging and heartwarming in equal measure.

Two of Us | Short Film Nominee

In a bid to survive extremely harsh conditions that render air unfit to breathe, Samuel, the sole survivor of a seemingly apocalyptic event, struggles to connect vague dots of a life that might eventually be the very factor standing between his own life and death. While his surroundings continue to turn stranger, the sense of another person being present with him never truly leaves him. 

The voices of a traumatic past constantly overwhelm him, but the pursuit of survival continues amidst it all. The film constructs its world with care, paying attention to the edit and the subsequent stylistic choices that are interweaved with the visuals. The colors are muted, as if to communicate the grey realms between what is real and what isn’t that the protagonist battles. 

Though not without some rough edges in the overall atmospheric quality, the end result presents a meticulous story about the past, the endless effort of overcoming it in the process of moving on, and finally finding that all the answers that Samuel sought were within him all along.

Midnight Travels | Short Film Nominee

The film is primarily a conversation between two women, one a hardened adult who has completely accepted the several onslaughts of patriarchy in her life. The other is her daughter, on the cusp of adulthood, striving with everything that she’s got against the same onslaught. 

The two women of color, now in the USA, find themselves at complete loggerheads where while one struggles to hold on to antiquated ideas of tradition, the other is trying to seek out more of what the world has to offer. As Mehar endeavors to convince her mother to let her pursue her fully-funded degree at MIT, her mother becomes the very mirror of internalized patriarchy and misogyny where women themselves prevent other women from breaking out of their shackles. The end result falls a little short of utilizing its actors to their full potential. Nevertheless, it presents an important conversation that more often than not defines the immigrant experience for women of color in particular, and of women all over the world in general.

Dhī(ਧੀ): Daughter Bound by Society  | Short Film Nominee

The title of the film, ‘Prototype’ establishes an expectation that is immediately undercut by our first introduction to it. While the name conjures a space of formal structures and entities, the realm presented to us is far more free-flowing, one that is defined by a surrealistic approach, rather than fixed boundaries of science or technology. 

The visuals and their palette are controlled to bolster this reality where a young artist struggles to pour his perception of the world on paper. It requires of him a movement through fluid realms that, in turn, constitute the film. This journey, however, is disconcerting and eventually marked by an inherently violent act. 

At the completion of this movement rests not only the film’s conclusion but also an unexpected revelation for the viewer that will further pronounce the film’s title, as well as a crucial part of the artist’s identity.

Prototype | Short Film Nominee

The film is about Linda who battles a fatal medical condition called dysregulaphemia that has her days numbered. This purported reality, however, is in deliberate and direct contrast with the life that is conjured on screen. 

From early morning workouts in sleek facilities to social media updates (complete with awkward hashtags), the Linda we see before us is far from any physical frailty or weakness. Her former lover, Maddy, who has come to visit her from another city, shares our confusion and bafflement at this strange course of Linda’s life. 

The film develops to rope in moments of humor, as well as drama, to present a fraught character who finds herself struggling with the many challenges of adulthood, and thereby taking refuge in a fairytale of a sob story. The film’s voice, tonality, and performances all show deep potential. However, the film is impeded when it comes to narratorial progression which displays a little want of seamlessness. Nonetheless, because the storytelling shows promise, it should definitely be explored further in future projects.

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