Poetry is a powerful tool for the revolution of thought, one that is capable of making you sit up, pay attention and bring reformative change. The aspiration for this reform also rests at the heart of the Black Lives Matter movement which shook the world in 2020 as it went ahead to explicitly state what should be a well-accepted fact - someone with a darker skin tone does not mean they deserve to be discriminated against or are any less worthy of equality. What the narrative of the film does is add to the same conversation, raising pressing, politically-charged questions, but with the lyricism of poetry. It is marked by music and dance, suggesting a fluid, free-flowing space of expression as a woman moves gracefully in the vast expanse of a field. Unfortunately, when it comes to racial identity, this freedom still remains a pipe-dream. However, in the face of systemic oppression, the ideas of equality, freedom and justice will reign free. The black experience will not be obliterated by the weapons of a discriminatory few, becomes the overarching message of the narrative, along with the reminder to take the first step, which might sometimes also mean looking within. No act of change, as small as it might be, is inconsequential, further asserts the film, leaving you with a poignantly moving sense of hope.

Shapes and Colors | Short Film of the Day

The complexity of some experiences demand more than one medium for an expression. The short film is clear evidence of the same proposition as it ropes in poetry, dance, and the written word itself which forms the body of the narration. In addition to this, it includes a performance that suddenly finds itself in a place in direct contrast with all the lyricism, vastness of setting, and fluidity expressed so far - the confines of a drab corner, marked by its pale greys, where two people sit discussing a letter. The entirety of the narrative becomes a movement predominantly towards this moment in time, one that stands for not only a conflicted relationship between a son and his mother at a microcosmic level, but also the experience of understanding your identity. The idea of home and belonging, and what it truly means to have the same tied to the identity of your parents, or more specifically, as the title suggests, a mother, then becomes the concern at a more macrocosmic level. The film exhibits sophistication in its forward motion, as each of these thoughts is brought to life on screen, allowing the plot a cohesive structure. In the process, it further enables the narrative to share its intentions with an emphatic clarity while coupled with a surreal flow of images all along that more than fulfil their aim of communicating the meaning behind them.

Mother/Land | Short Film of the Day

The short poetic narrative, drawing inspiration from Maya Angelou’s 'Still I Rise', conjures a visually notable creative endeavor for you. It brings to life a plot marked the fluidity of bodily movement which, in turn, articulates a fluidity of thought. 

 The parkour and acrobatics further rope in a weightlessness akin to flying, perhaps further suggesting a flight from one's mortal inhibitions and limitations. These are tied with a poetic voiceover that asserts the same ideas of finding your own invincible self, irrespective of the obstacles that might be strewn in your way. 

 The brief final result that weaves the various elements together is a stunning thing to watch, one that invokes a sense of deep admiration and awe for everything the human body is capable of, thereby further reminding one of not only our physical but also mental and emotional capabilities. Essentially, the film is a putting together of a brilliant performance by way of sophisticated camerawork, and it is precisely through this lens that it should be viewed.

Icaro | Short Film of the Day

With the narration of Eliza Paul Gurney's Time as its pivotal point, the short film develops its narrative. It is simply an engagement with the poem, and thus the inherent ideas the parent text carries within itself. The same is mapped against visuals that mark the passage of time from one stage of life to another. While the piece in itself was written about three centuries ago, it goes to emphasise the relevance of the message it harbours within all these years later, perhaps further asserting the cyclical nature, as well as the inexorable, forever moving current of time. The metaphors and visuals it employs to convey it all are the usual suspects - an hour glass, falling sand, images of infancy and childhood, soon followed by those of a later stage in life. As they follow one after another in a smooth fashion, there is further an interaction invoked with the ideas of hope and how they come to define each of these stages, experiences and life as a whole. And it is in this intermingling of poetry and filmmaking that the viewer is presented with an enduring truth about time - the mute spectator at the margins, standing witness to all of mankind's successes, progress, and perhaps, an eventual downfall.

Time | Short Film Nominee

The narratorial voice in the film employs poetry to present its views to you, also allowing a glimpse into the several experiences the narrator has undergone and wishes to portray. As the title suggests, the film opens with the her understanding of the city of Los Angeles and all that this relationship has come to stand for her in all its nuances, layers and moments that have been thrown her way. However, soon the tone changes from being an outward to an inward glance, that continues to grow in intimacy and the time it spends on each thought. As violence, harassment, sexism, patriarchy and the struggle of achieving all that one had set out to in the city takes center stage, cynicism finds its way into the narrative. Further, there is the use of an experimental approach in the portrayal of everything the words are expressing using symbolic, corresponding images. Though a product of limited resources, the voice and tone of the film exhibits notable potential. The same is translated into the final result as well, leaving the door open for more such endeavors.

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