‘Sojourn’ presents a very relevant story, and shares it in an interesting, unexpected manner. As an investigation unfolds between Athena and Detective Sanger, we realize this is an exchange of equal adversaries. 

While one side may have come dangerously close to overpowering the other, soon the scales tip out of balance, and the narrative ropes in a notable employment of sci-fi thrill. A past defined by a grotesque coupling of kindness and violence, of compassion and cruelty is brought to life, one that forms the backbone of the film. 

The end result is not only engaging, but also furthers a crucial conversation in an impactful manner. It definitely leaves the door open for a longer project that dives deeper and longer in the world of the characters presented thus.

Sojourn | Short Film of the Day

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 theme of the short film, a protagonist in its own right, is anger. The many sides of anger and the subsequent emotions and actions it can lead to - a vehement dismissal of an opinion, an erasure of someone’s identity, a violent rejection of life itself - all become different components that the narrative engages with. The same is achieved by introducing us to three characters, Liz, Kuan, and Mike, and three very crucial events in each of their lives. 

The film undertakes the humongous task of dealing with simultaneous narratives with distinct styles. Though impactful, this approach sometimes runs the danger of bordering on incongruency when the components are weaved together as a whole within the film. 

However, the spectrum of emotions the film covers is constructed with care, further bolstered by commendable performances. It's rooted in the very real world of the Black Lives Matter movement and the pitfalls of woke culture, with racism as a constant thread tying the film as one. The presence of anger and its different forms remains consistent throughout as well, leaving the door open for similar explorations of an emotion or state of being in more projects.

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