When does self-care cease being about the self and become about a false sense of control doomed to culminate into a destructive obsession? The short film premises itself on the same question to put forth a quirky narrative about a woman who has just moved into a new apartment. On her sister's recommendation and prodding, she finds herself getting involved in a book that is a direct echo of the wave of minimalism that has been making its presence felt in the recent past, in media and popular culture. While it may seem inane at worst, and a potentially productive activity, at best, is that truly the direction this preoccupation with efficiency and aspiration is headed in? The neat frames, a treat for the eyes, might trick the viewer into falling into the trap of perhaps assuming that the character indeed is on some monumental path of self-improvement. However, a far more disturbing reality await her as well as the viewer. The narrative endeavours an insightful engagement with the protagonist's unraveling from harmless eccentricities to self-sabotaging behaviour. There is further a desire to portray the pressure several people, especially women, find themselves struggling with in a world that is dictated by strict capitalist and patriarchal structures, where there is always something to improve, clean, enhance or make better in exchange for a cost that is often too high to pay. However, what is truly the goal, the end of this road, if there is one at all to begin with? The film raises the question, and leaves the viewer with an answer that is proudly unequivocal in its message and intention.

An Aspirational Space | Short Film of the Day

Though complex at first glance, the narrative of the short film is direct and simple, but with an impactful message. It opens on a fairly harmless note which successfully beguiles the thrill and suspense it is eventually headed towards. A young woman clicks pictures by herself in Central Park. Running away from a life of relationships gone awry, and fearful in her body language and approach to her surroundings, she perhaps seeks an escape within the frames of her camera. However, soon a disturbing pattern emerges in her pictures, forcing her to truly confront the consequent events, yet all the while trying to hide behind objects and a transitory sense of shelter and safety. The narrative attempts a layered exploration of the protagonist in this manner, bringing in an engagement with the ideas of the self and identity. When she is finally faced with the truth, would she find it in her to accept the inevitable outcome? The film invokes all of these concerns and manages to provide their answers as well, while maintaining its crispness and brevity throughout.

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