School principal Nina Valentinovna could not be prouder as she sits before an interviewer, sharing her thoughts for a news channel. She talks of her star pupil, Pyotr, a maths genius and a child with special needs. 

The principal extols her school’s values and how they train their students to always uphold them, while eschewing topics of conflict and social turbulence. However, as Valentinovna overlooks a crucial truth about the impact of a war and violence-ridden society on children, and how it translates into their own equations and dynamics, and instead only offers empty, clinical facts which might mean very little in the real world, another parallel reality is unfolding outside this interview. 

Young Max becomes a focal point in what follows, presenting a very incisive glimpse into how children operate within their spaces away from the adult world. A skilled screenplay that portrays this, coupled with expert performances that strengthen the film right till the very end, ensures that the narrative offers a hard-hitting commentary on innocence, and more shockingly, on the cruelty that can thrive within the same realm. The apathy of adults, or worse, their personal ambition mixed with casual indifference, further adds an emotional layer to the storytelling, all of which together present a story that is sure to stay with the viewer for a long time.

Crease  | Short Film of the Month

Our young protagonist, Benji is a gifted musician. His talent is further coupled with a love for his art, which ensures that even in the face of bullying and jeering by some of his more aggressive peers, he is always wholeheartedly present for his music. The school’s last concert of the year is coming up, a big night for all the young musicians, when the most terrible tragedy befalls Benji. 

The visual grammar of the film, the transitions, and hand-held shots, present a sophisticated endeavor in making it all come to life. When coupled with the manner sound is employed to bring juxtaposition and contrast, the message is pronounced seamlessly. As the title of the film gets realized in Benji’s unfolding nightmarish reality, reminding the viewer of a musical genius who had suffered the same fate, he finds himself distanced manifold from the one thing he truly loved. 
In his anger and frustration, however, could the same thing he feels painfully severed from truly be his savior? The film not only presents this question but also sees its answer through right till the very end.

Making Beethoven Proud | Short Film Nominee

The short film attempts to engage with a relevant concern among teenagers and students - bullying. The approach it adopts for the same is intelligent and sharp. The narrative makes a smart and efficient use of a small space and two actors, both notable performers, keeping the art design and production minimalist. Bully emphasises that while it is difficult to fight an external bully, fighting one within can sometimes be even harder. However, there indeed is light at the end of the tunnel and the first step towards it involves acceptance and introspection. If you are able find kindness, towards others as well as yourself, all is not lost.

Bully | Short Film of the Day

The first aspect of the film that is highly likely to catch your attention is its inherent objectivity. It does not take sides or garner sympathy for one character or apathy for the other. There are no fixed black and white categories for you to subscribe to, and that works in the plot's favor. The story is of an unexpected development when a man stumbles across the house of an old, high-school mate. Another man opens the door. Not exactly the picture of hospitality, he is reluctant to let a stranger, who claims they went to school together, into his house. However, he allows him anyway, and the two soon find themselves reminiscing a world long gone by. While superficially it is a meeting that is expected to be marked by nostalgia, and though a wistfulness, but one subdued with fond remembrance, the narrative soon takes a turn towards deeper concerns - of bullying and the consequent trauma. The several elements are tied together, making it evident to the viewer that the film is headed towards a dramatic crescendo before it achieves its eventual conclusion, and it is this which will come to determine the fate of its two characters. The significance of the ensuing climax also heightens, for it will finally serve to dispel the viewer's unease which has been at work without them consciously realising it. While the objectivity remains in place throughout, matters continue to come to a head, leaving it up to the viewer to decide which side of the film's proposition they will locate themselves on.

Most Likely to Succeed | Short Film Nominee

The film is a sincere endeavour to understand the cause and effect of violence, especially when it takes place in spaces we otherwise consider safe. Violence meted out in a familial territory by a father to his son, and bullying that takes place in a high school are the two threads the narrative picks up to weave a story of a school boy. At the cusp of adulthood and all the decisions it entails at the age of eighteen, he is about to be met by crucial choices. It would be by employing these that the film will allow a glimpse into its own internal reflections. It is interesting to note that the brutal father is not the only adult voice we are met with in the film. It is further supplemented with two more kind, rational and helpful adults who would eventually lead the protagonist to understand his situation better, and to perhaps even allow his dreams to be an artist, spread their wings for a flight. Additionally, there is an attempt to understand the origins of physical abuse, and thus, the possibility to work towards a solution of ending it, rather than simply presenting the viewer with the occurence of the problem.

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