'Hello Mattress' is an interesting film to engage with. It is essentially a conversation between a couple, Zak and Sara. As Zak bids on a used (or 'slightly used', as he is quick to point out) mattress, Sara is a bundle of paranoia and anxieties about the origins of the mattress, and why it's current owner might be selling it. 

The conversation progresses to rope in the undead and hitmen looking for stowed away cash, while the narrative maintains its deliberate frivolity throughout. The main strength of the film remains the story it chooses to tell, a single moment in the life of two people. It further goes to show how this moment, simply by itself, is capable of invoking different emotions within the viewer. 

All of this is achieved in under five minutes, while using the same physical space. Though a little undercooked, the film definitely shows potential in its voice and storytelling.

Hello Mattress | Short Film Nominee

The film uses the metaphor of a train ride to convey its message and uses it for an effervescent portrayal of a young woman's chance encounter with a former lover. As the woman reminisces the journey from the confines of a room, the metro ride is delineated parallelly by the narrative alongside a story of union and parting. Made as a student film, it shows great potential which can be realised in subsequent projects by the team. The film is honest and simple and attempts a poignant story of love, loss and the constantly forward-moving trajectory of life.

Between Stations | Short Film of the Day

Late into the night, a couple arrives for a romantic getaway in a secluded cottage. They are in bed, ready to turn in, when the most strange occurrence grips the night. Making itself known only by way of sound first, an invisible presence begins to overwhelm their reality. And before they can even attempt to subvert the terrible events in store for them, they are reduced to being powerless captives of the demonic, supernatural being. The short does not delve into what led to this moment or why it persists in the life of the characters who choose to continue to stay at the getaway, resigned to their fate. When they leave, instead of carrying forth the warnings, like the others who stayed there before them should have carried, they too join the cacophony of stellar reviews for the place. This, in turn, conveys to the viewer that the supernatural presence not only possesses them in a strange manner, but also continues to get its victims one after another. Additionally, the story offers an interesting angle on the new-age internet travel culture and how social media and online reviews fit into it all.

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