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 all 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 | Spotlight

The film does a remarkable job of tying something as dark and disturbing as substance abuse and its many devastating consequences with the innocence of childhood and its fantasies. The story opens with the mingling of two very contrasting images in the same vein. 

Our young protagonist Samir plays with his toys, his voice overlapping with the sobbing of a woman, and the visuals of broken glass. His immediate reality is defined by alcoholism and substance abuse of his parents, and the consequent neglect that it leads to. 

The child is quick to take comfort in fantasies that the adult viewer knows will probably never come true. The film’s biggest triumph lies in how skillfully it portrays this contrast and paints a heartbreaking world by simply using a child’s perspective as its primary storytelling tool. The screenplay is constructed with equal care to ensure no beat or moment is left underutilized, driving its message home with impact and clarity.

Night Games | Short Film of the Month

The film brings to life a poignant story of a household on the brink of collapse. A couple navigates the myriad complexities of their crumbling marriage, against the backdrop of two of their young sons moving from one childhood antic to another. 
The fictional elements of the story are coupled with those of a documentary to present to the viewer an efficient and seamless utilization of the docu-fiction style. The end result is not only defined by the singularity of voice and visual progression but also by the remarkable performances and the unmissable chemistry of the sparring couple. All of these together ensure that a sense of underlying tension, something simmering right under the surface, never truly leaves the narrative. 
The film maintains a firm conviction in its quietness, further tied with a notable background score. This, in turn, allows an expert engagement with all of its intentions and layered subject matter. Amidst the unfolding chaos of the household, however, a truly terrible development awaits, one from which there is no looking away, one which finally presents the crescendo and the eventual conclusion to the conflict thus presented to the viewer.

Home Videos | Short Film of the Day

The film preoccupies itself with a moment fraught with extreme tension and anxiety, yet subdued and muzzled by layers and layers of familial dynamics and etiquette. Young Jade arrives at her grandmother's birthday party, but the event is marked by something oppressive, something far beyond the realm of the child's comprehension. 

Jade will meet her half-sister Katrina for the first time on this day. The constant sense of unease never truly leaves the adult equations either, and located at the heart of all this is the alienation and anxiety Jade experiences, without the ability to articulate or even process all that unfolds. 

 
The short film does a beautiful, earnest job of portraying the many nuances and undercurrents that lurk in the unsaid things. Eschewing sentimentalism, or any kind of overt emotional outbursts or exclamations, the realm is conjured for the viewer. The visual grammar, as well as the silences, tied together most seamlessly by the immense vulnerability of its young protagonist, complete and deliver the film to the audience.

Half  | 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 succinct documentary takes us into a very moving, and compelling reality of a corner of the world that finds itself overwhelmed with political strife to the extent of drowning out several other voices, albeit each as worthy of being heard as the other. It introduces us to the battles of primarily the children and their parents who are born with a cleft lip and palate in Myanmar. 

 The issues are brought to life by way of two voices, both experts who worked towards fighting them in the Burmese capital of Nay Pyi Taw. The plot further paints the portrait of a hospital established in 2005, but still grappling with staff shortages. The political unrest that especially ravaged the nation in 2019 only served to make matters worse. Despite the many hurdles that obstruct the path of the stories of conflict-ridden territories, the film does its bit to make itself heard loud and clear.

 While the final result only offers a cause, devoid of its effect, perhaps even raising within you the want of a longer version of the current project, the simple endeavor to share this story is sufficient to triumph any similar predicaments that might arise in the viewer's mind. The narrative, in the process, brings to life a gripping and very relevant concern, without the usual traps of exploitation and sensationalization of misery. It presents to you a story that demands to be heard, to educate and raise a conversation that needs to be furthered.

The Last Bus to Nay Pyi Taw | Short Film of the Day

The film is a heartfelt conversation between a mother and her unborn child, one that she lost. As the visuals reimagine an existence of what-could-have-been, the viewer is taken into a world of substance abuse. Along with drawing attention to a severe problem that plagues society, the film also invokes an emotional reality. It is marred by a decision gone wrong, the manner in which it affected not just the woman, but also a life that was inevitably linked with hers, and the consequent crushing burden of guilt. The protagonist's battle with the trauma and grief is allowed portrayal on screen, until the eventual caving in to the weight she has been carrying all along. The film does a notable job of using color and filters to bring to life just the right atmosphere and ambience for the world it has intended to present to the viewer. It is a product marked by vision and a strong attempt at realizing and executing it, especially by way of beautiful visuals.

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