In a sterile world of colorless pipes with a deeply questionable origin, much to to the identity of the corporation that owns them, Mush operates as the be-all and end-all of people's dietary supplies. Within the corporation exist strict hierarchies of power, also determining which color of Mush is made available to its employees for their lacklustre meals. The story truly begins when a level one employee, Marcus is promoted to level seven under the leadership of a seemingly underage manager. While navigating the power structures of his new position, he stumbles across another strange, previously unencountered object in his own backyard - a tomato. Unsure of what the item truly is, describing it as a flower of sorts hanging from the plant, clearly having only been familiar with mush as a meal, his world gets a welcome surprise of tasting a fruit for the first time, and yet, the structures he moves and functions within might not be as welcoming of it. The narrative of the film invokes all of these underpinnings by satirising the closely regulated workplace hierarchies, the inner functionings of a big corporation, young upstarts given crucial professional positions and of course, the complete control of a truth narrative by a handful custodians of power.

Mush | Short Film Nominee

Ichor, which simply means the blood of gods, ensures that the film has led the viewer by hand to its core intentions right at the beginning with its very title. Ichor also has a link to human wounds, which is employed further in the narrative when the protagonist asserts his own knowledge of wounds. In terms of the story, what begins as a losing battle for him and his fellow-soldiers in the nineteenth century eventually comes full circle in the twenty first. The narrative strives to bring in adventure, action, fantasy and drama to further embellish its story. Our protagonist is a man who has known loss and personal tragedy. Consequently, when he finds himself staring directly into the face of death in the form of a blood-sucking being who has killed all his companions, there is little that makes him flinch. He is ready to embrace his end, and yet, life has something else in store for him. The story further invokes Mary Shelley and the inspiration she drew from the myth of Prometheus for her masterpiece, Frankenstein. The film endeavors to invoke a conversation on life and death, on loss, love, tragedy, and more explicitly, one's idea of the nation. It is well-intentioned and sincere, almost theatrical in its performances and character developments. However, if the same theatricality could have been replaced with a little more effortlessness, it would have benefitted the film more.

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