The path of creative pursuits is circuitous, deceptive, and often entirely missing until a relentless artist comes along to somehow conjure it with their work. The short film is a beautiful, heartfelt, and poignant exploration of the same proposition. At its heart is the articulate protagonist Thad Cockrell, a gifted musician who discovered how closely intertwined his happiness is with music very early on in his life. 

Through our introduction to Cockrell, 'To Be Enjoyed' presents a moving narrative of love for one’s art, but also of the many obstacles that plague such an equation. The unforgiving pursuit can often fail all arguments of rationality and logic, and yet, the artist returns every day to commit themselves to it each time. Cockrell himself describes it as a kind of madness, but the overarching emotion that he infuses into the film, one that becomes its driving force, is the reminder that the world needs new stories, and for them to exist, people have to live them. 

Cockrell himself is one such story - presenting to us a life of obscurity that eventually finds its way on the Jimmy Fallon show in the most unlikely manner! This realm of creativity, failure, and the stubborn refusal to give up is portrayed with sustained long shots, coupled with deeply soulful vocals of the protagonist himself. The many components tied together present a meaningful endeavor that will remind you that it’s never too late, as long as you are turning up each day to take just another stab at what you truly love.

To Be Enjoyed | Short Film of the Month

A painter finds himself overwhelmed by his memories and the past, which eventually begin to block his creative energies as well. It is primarily a conversation with these obstacles that come to form the main body of the film. Marked by its calm visuals, that effortlessly, and perhaps even consciously, steer clear of gaudiness and ostentation, the film thus becomes a quiet portrayal of a man's interactions with his grief over a seemingly recent loss. The film attempts several things - a delineation of an artist's process of creating something, the manner in which his past experiences tie up with it, the failure to let them find a voice on his canvas and the eternal battle to conquer them, both despite and because of personal tragedy. Pentimento, essentially aiming to convey the change an artist might make in the process of painting, achieves all of this through its seamless and elegant camerawork, further enhanced by sophisticated and convincing performances. All of these elements are finally tied together by poignant storytelling, allowing the film to be a wonderfully wholesome product.

Pentimento | Short Film of the Day

‘The Circle’ is a beautifully imagined film about the journey of an artist from repetition and mundaneness to something truly pathbreaking. It introduces the viewer to tattoo artist Herman Devyashin who takes us deeper into his struggle of what was once meaningful, inspiring, and almost spiritual in the experience of all these emotions. However, now it is only defined by futility and the emptiness of the whole process. 

Mapping his journey as an artist, Devyashin talks of the pitfalls of pursuing your art, something you deeply love and are entirely devoted to, up to a point where it stops giving the same emotional returns. The metaphor that the film presents by way of the protagonist is that of an unbreakable circle, a train track that haunts Devyashin’s dreams. To break out of this monotony, he now endeavors to employ augmented reality for his next project. This endeavor presents not only an interesting nexus of art and technology but also the promise of an unprecedented feat. 

The film embarks upon an ambitious journey of presenting all of these ideas with authenticity, finally reaching completion with fervor and passion. After opening with the memory of a dream, the narrative goes ahead to create a dreamscape of its own with the most wonderful employment of screenplay, editing, and background score. Alongside a meaningful glimpse into Devyashin’s art, the film's storytelling and artistic prowess are also pronounced in an understated, yet unmissable manner.

The Circle | Short Film of the Day

The film is a lovely, heartwarming ode to creativity, alongside being a reminder that no matter how still and dull things might seem sometimes, there is always a little bit more color and inspiration to be found in an unexpected place. The protagonist is in the middle of a room filled with blank and scribbled pages, the clutter around him a representation of his scattered thoughts. He is unable to move ahead in his creative pursuits. However, soon he stumbles across an object, a basketball, in a forgotten corner of the room that echoes the film’s title ‘Create!’. In a similar fashion, creativity effuses forward from the crevices of his mind, and the narrative comes full circle. The visual treatment, with its effects and animation exhibiting finesse and skill, becomes a true treat to interact with as a viewer. All of it together ties the end result as a whole, marked by hope, and a fun, engaging, and expert visual progression.

Create! | Spotlight

‘The Masterpiece’ stands out for the theatrical quality it brings to life in its visual progression, and ties it with an unrelenting and unstoppable staccato tone. As the stage is set for the drama to unfold, we are introduced to the protagonist, Cristian Fredrick who plays himself in this short film that packs the journey of a life in under ten minutes. From being diagnozed with a terminal illness as a teenager, to becoming a therapeutic painter, the narrative portrays the humongous distance covered in between by the artist. 

The story unfolds to reveal within its folds debauchery, excesses, but above all, the insurmountable desire to survive, to overcome the obstacles, irrespective of how Herculean they might seem. 

The overarching message that seems to tie the final result together thus becomes one about grit and courage, the reminder to not give up. It becomes the celebration of a journey where the the masterpiece is not something external, but internal and indeed what you make of the self, what you make within.

The Masterpiece | Short Film of the Day

The film is a meaningful exploration of love in all its intimacy and affection, and the pitfalls and doldrums that might sometimes accompany it. The first element that takes us into the protagonist, Alice's world is the opening night of her play. Alongside the performance on stage, and our introduction to its creator, the narrative ropes in a non-linear trajectory to give a glimpse into situations and realizations that led to this play. 
From endearing romance to heartache, an emotional spectrum is conjured with care and attention to detail. While a conflict unfolds on stage, it is reflected in a parallel strife that is simmering between Alice, and Jesse, an impatient member of the audience, and as we soon discover, her former boyfriend. The two continue to spar in the brief moments of the interval with no end visible in sight to their discontent and disagreements. However, at the same time, a wish fulfillment of sorts, something that could never come to be in real life, is achieved on stage. 
The portrayal of the protagonist is unmissable in its performance, exhibiting deep potential, as the film's many components are shared with the audience. This is further coupled with writing, and screenplay, both of which attempt to play around with the sound edit and music to communicate the film’s intentions in a cohesive manner.

Writing You Down | Short Film of the Day

The experience of being an artist is often more romanticized than perhaps any other profession or choice of life, leaving the darkness that comes to constitute it overlooked and ignored. The pursuit of creativity is marked by several obstacles, seemingly insurmountable in their appearance, and requiring exhausting effort to be overcome. The pain, that is an inevitable part of this process, is often portrayed as a badge of honor, for instance in the case of the mould of the tortured artist, seen as something to be reveled and gloried in. This whitewashing of an artist's struggles often keeps the world unaware of how isolating the experience of creating something can be, sometimes leaving them only with the voices and doubts in their head as a companion. 

 The short film is a lovely portrayal of all of these ideas, achieved by introducing us to the failed attempts of Olivia to create a painting that would justify her definition of greatness. As she grapples with one foiled attempt after another, the line between perseverance and self-sabotage is left blurred. The protagonist continues to slip deeper and deeper into the territory of self-destruction, entrapping herself within a web of her own thoughts. This metaphor finds a literal, physical representation in the powerful image of Olivia entwining herself within a web of red wool of her own making. 

 The film, in the process, becomes an engagement with imposter syndrome and its protagonist's debilitating struggle to overcome it. And yet, as her attempts grow in their scale and proportion, acquiring an almost theatrical quality, is it only a moment of eventual surrender that awaits her at the end of it all? A Sweeter Place not only raises this question, but also offers an answer. On the technical front, while it is not devoid of a few hits and misses, a little instability in a handheld shot or a dialogue sustained too long, the final product remains fresh, honest and deeply impactful in the manner of sharing its story and intentions with the viewer.

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