‘Ultimate Fails Compilation’ beautifully captures the essence of boyhood, but in the age of social media. The exploration of the thematic concerns is meticulous and thorough, along with a constant conversation about likes and the internet interweaved with dialogue. The interpersonal equations with peers, group dynamics and the power-play that operates within them, as well as banter that has more practical concerns underlining them, whether or not the boys consciously realize it, all form the film's backbone.

As four boys make videos about the eponymous internet trend, our first instinct is to assume a lighthearted story about the lives of twelve-year-olds. However, before we can fully accept it to ourselves, the suggestion of a far darker reality begins to make its presence felt. 

The narrative adroitly employs only a brief glimpse into the lives of the characters to bring all of this to life, engrossing the viewer throughout. 
Calmness replaces frills, gravity replaces flippancy, resulting in an outcome that is deliberately understated, but unmissable in its lucidity and impact.

Ultimate Fails Compilation | Short Film of the Day

Boyhood is a labyrinth of self-doubt, the pursuit of imagined confidence, young romances, and the many complex struggles of everything all of this entails. Our two characters, Edwin and Steven, navigate it with an endearing charm, and in the process, without trying or consciously intending, simplify a complex experience, condensing it into something entertaining, amusing, and heartfelt. 
The two may have no idea of how the world functions, but they are full of how it functions in their own individual realms, and there is no stopping them from using that as a manual for the situations life presents. While one of them struggles to ask out a girl, the other is trying to write and act, to overcome personal inhibitions. Essentially, both boys hope to move towards finding a way to express themselves before a world that seems alien and distanced, be it a crush or a theatre audience. 
The film does a wonderfully effortless job of tying the two together. Additionally, the boys’ attempts to find a physical space to hang out with each other is an echo of the emotional space too that they seek, one where all of these uncertainties have been resolved. In the portrayal of all of this and some more, the film efficiently utilizes the chemistry of the two actors and presents a screenplay, as well as a final result, that is wholesome and balanced in a complete manner.

Practice Space  | Short Film of the Month

A coming of age narrative often originates from a very personal space, perhaps an echo of the artist's life themselves, and the film comes across as being in the same vein. The protagonist of the film, Jo, takes the viewer into the story of his life that begins as a seminal memory when he was five years old, and introduces them to the manner in which it continues to influence the rest of his life. The narrative is predominantly an engagement with the fear of change, and the ways in which this hesitation holds back the protagonist from all that he could be. In its seemingly semi-autobiographical manner, garnished with fiction, humour and the desire to weave a colorful plot, the film puts forth its ideas and thoughts in a dedicated and honest way. The eponymous metaphor becomes an overarching presence throughout the plot, as Jo moves from one stage of his life to the next, eventually concluding with a neat lid on it all. The film is notable for being a single-member-crew effort, and a sincerity to achieving its final product despite limited resources.

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