Health advisories have never been more colorful and trippy (with the most fitting background music to go) than this short film. Employing humour as a device when contemporary global reality feels bleak beyond salvation, here is a wonderful reminder for you to keep your wits by yourself in times of Coronavirus and the consequent Covid-19 infection. As country after country finds itself enforcing a lockdown to contain this contagious virus, where else can we turn to for comfort if not art? Beyond the topicality of its subject, it also boasts of adept technique and skilled execution of the video. Attempting to have fun with mobile filmmaking, How to Survive a Pandemic entirely relies on dim-lit shots to weave and narrate its story with finesse. The camerawork deserves special mention for the intelligent way in which it brings a fresh breath of air to every visual. The story is primarily of a woman, who could potentially be any of us, watching the endless deluge of news on the pandemic. With every headline and new update, she seemingly finds herself sinking deeper into despair. However, before allowing the overwhelming sense of imminent doom get the better of her, she decides to turn things around and voila! She is soon sipping on a homemade concoction of the antidote. While we may have still not reached the same conclusion as our fictional protagonist, there is indeed a lesson or two in calmness and rationality to be picked along the way from her.

How to Survive a Pandemic | Short Film of the Day

From online workouts with chirpy fitness instructors to music that would have once uplifted your spirits, from the overwhelming deluge of news, content, celebrities' two-pence on the health crisis that has followed in the wake of a pandemic, to political figures accepting or denying it - the conversation around the coronavirus is endless. The film is a portrayal of how the protagonist gets sucked into this vortex, it's pull strengthened by the emotional as well as the physical isolation she is already grappling with in an empty house with only voices on screens as a companion. The grainy, dimly-lit visuals further serve to communicate a sense of remoteness and aloofness as we find ourselves emotionally, more than physically, distanced from one another. At first glance, the film is about no more than a woman's emotional health spiralling into chaos. However, the narrative is perhaps also about the quest for some semblance of control, as false as it might be, coming from washing your hands obsessively or dancing around in your bathroom, dressed up in bling and shimmer, perhaps allowing yourself to forget, even if just for a fleeting moment, that a pandemic has not brought the world down to its knees. This when coupled with beautiful shots and a seamless edit, translates the protagonist's thoughts and internal state of being to the screen with an honesty and truth that will ring loud and clear with several viewers. And yet, look closer, and there is another important concern the film engages with - one about the 
ubiquitous nature of technology when it comes to human existence. It's infestation in our day-to-day lives is a deeply internalised and normalised reality. However it's presence acquires a herculean proportion when we are removed from human contact. As the voices continue on our several gadgets, soon devolving into a cacophony, the noise breaks the silence with an overwhelming, immensely disorienting force, suggests the narrative. Will this pull the protagonist deeper, to a place of no return, along with the viewer, or would it finally allow her a respite, a moment of complete abandon away from it all?

Noise | Short Film Nominee

The coronavirus pandemic has introduced us to an isolation quite unprecedented in human history. While the adherence to the lockdown has brought with it financial tribulations and all sorts of practical difficulties, another huge hurdle to accompany it is that of the emotional well-being of a people who now find themselves devoid of the safety of a community they might have even taken for granted earlier. Distance bases itself on the same premise, endeavouring to be an exploration of not only the physical distance, an absolute must to combat the novel Covid-19 virus, but also the emotional distance we may find ourselves face to face with. In essence, our quarantine is not simply confined to physical boundaries, but has stretched its limbs to the mental and psychological aspects of our day-to-day lives as well. The film employs a straight narrative to suggest fighting the obstacles with kindness and by the simple act of reaching out to one another. It ties together the experiences of three different households, each dealing with their own set of problems as they grapple with an uncertainty with no end in sight, and finds a way to communicate its point of making their presence felt irrespective of their limited physical freedom. The visuals are sophisticated and smooth, exhibiting skilled camerawork. The film also manages to make efficient use of its limited resources and opportunities as a result of its adherence to the official health guidelines.

Distance | Short Film of the Day

The short film is a dedicated attempt to portray a woman's isolation following the coronavirus lockdown that has rendered everyone confined to their houses. As she moves from one corner of the city to another, now nothing more than an alien territory, she is unable to find the comfort and peace that is associated with human company, perhaps taken for granted earlier. The title of the film also provides the metaphor, windows of empty buildings that would have once given a glimpse into different worlds, that serves as the premise of the narrative. The film is a sincere endeavour to explore a woman's inability to come to terms with her reality, along with the eventual hope she finds within as well as in the world around her. However, it would have benefited from a closer attention on the edit table.

Windows | Short Film Nominee

The short film deals with the dynamics of the familial space and how conflict comes to define it. The story adopted to engage with the same is a sweet narrative about two little brothers. They spend several fun days and afternoons together, busying themselves with different activities - from making paper planes to cycling around their neighborhood to playing Jenga. However, one day, an unexpected turn of events leads to a rift between the siblings. Unsure how to proceed, they are inclined to burying the hatchet, but are hesitant to move forward with their efforts. In the process, the film becomes an honest endeavour to explore, understand and present to the viewer the many complexities of the innocent world of childhood. The film then invokes the reality of our pandemic-stricken world which leads to a bigger trouble in the family's life. How will the inane paper plane, then, become a symbol of friendship and bonding, followed by a dispute, and then eventual union? The film raises the same question and offers an answer as well for the viewer in its own endearing manner.

Paper Plane | Short Film Nominee

The story of the film locates itself in a part of Michigan, USA where a pandemic has wiped out all existence, save for a lone survivor, our protagonist. The news has made it clear that he is supposed to wait indoors as a rescue team eventually reaches him. Left to his own devices, he has to now figure out a way to survive long enough, in time for them to be able to reach him. With this as the premise, the film allows its narrative to move forward. The tone of Coro-Nah continues to progressively get more and more grave, while the lived reality of the protagonist acquires a certain darkness. As a result of the constant struggle to keep himself alive each day and not starve, the last remnants of food in his refrigerator have to be rationed. A sense of rottenness has already entered his existence, be it in the form of the stale food that has a direct consequences on his health, or the silent, quiet isolation that threatens to overpower him each passing moment. Though there are a few wrinkles that could have been ironed to elevate the final product (a typo in an important news article or a little more seamlessness in the edit towards the conclusion), the film communicates its intentions simply by way of the action unfolding on screen, while being marked by a near-complete absence of dialogue. In the process, it strives for a comment on emotional disintegration and the impact of loneliness, emotional and physical isolation and being removed from a community and life we may have once simply accepted as the norm before our very own pandemic-hit reality.

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