If the purpose of art is to disorient, this short film succeeds at it most brilliantly. With its disparate images which still somehow find a common link weaving them together, all thanks to its skilful narrative, Under Covers involves the viewer right from its very first opening visual. The film offers a heady cocktail of childish images and mature content that would leave the viewer baffled about what to make of the film, but in the most wonderful ways. From controversial to violent to simply disturbing - the images roll one after the other, invoking sexuality, religion, violence and the fear of the supernatural. On a night of a lunar eclipse, all that it simply does is delve into the lives and secrets of the inhabitants of a small town. As the surreal, dreamy transitions follow in quick successions, would you have the stomach for what it has in store for you?

Under Covers | Short Film of the Day

One of the most beautiful flights of fancies are born during the most mundane tasks, like taking the subway for your daily commute. However, translating these images on screen and ensuring that strength of their dreamy visions is not lost is no easy task. A Circle Line Train triumphs over the same obstacle most efficiently, leaving you with stunning visual storytelling. When coupled with a complementary voiceover, the world that is conjured for you truly makes one wonder - is this the real life, is this just fantasy? Inspired by the iconic Queen song, the film takes us into parallel realms that the protagonist, Zarah, inhabits - what is and what could have been. The powerful contrast brings to life a world of vast expanses of nature, the indomitable spirit of the same finding an echo in the existence that the protagonist herself leads, moving from one adventure to another, to places unseen, to dreams that were once unrealized and lovers that were once forgotten and unknown. Whether the duration of this journey is years, months or simply the few minutes of a train ride, it remains redundant, even if momentarily so. At the same time, if it is a world of limitless skies and oceans, it is also one of personal demons, addictions and a haunting past. It is amidst all of this that Zarah is located, and yet, the circle line train never meanders from its route, Zarah never forgets to open her eyes from the dream she was having, to carry on with her fixed path and way of life in the city of London.

A Circle Line Train | Short Film of the Day

‘Albacore’ is a lovely exploration of a woman’s struggle with everything that she once desired, and the hollowness of life, the ennui it entails, now that she has attained it. Water remains an ongoing metaphor throughout, after having being established in the image of a fish that the title conjures. The forward propulsion of the narrative is defined by the pursuit of the discomfort of a fish out of water, her desperate desire to find that release and perhaps an eventual return to it. 
The protagonist, though a laconic woman, is a force to be reckoned with. Her most meaningful conversations take place with another woman, a younger self of sorts, who is a reminder of a past that no longer exists. When all of these elements are weaved together, the result is engaging, and soulful. 
There’s further an inherent quietness to the film, and the isolation of vast, endless spaces, evident in its visuals, that further aid this communication of intentions, ensuring that 'Albacore' remains lucid and meaningful throughout.

Albacore | Short Film of the Day

Trigger warning: This video contains fast flashing images which might be unsuitable for photosensitive viewers. 

A lonely woman living a quiet life away from untapped potential, an empty mansion and an overbearing tragedy of the past - these three elements conjure the world of the film for you. The Duchess, a young woman who has dealt with traumatic loss right at the start of her life, one that casts an overwhelming shadow on her entire existence in the present, finds herself taking refuge in a world of fantasy and excesses. 

The film's true triumph lies in the path that it chooses to delineate its intentions. It opens with powerful, transitory and fast-paced images that set the mood and tone for what is to follow. We are presented with a suggestion of Ophelia, serpents, female figures running carefree in the woods, lying in a meadow of blossoms, and yet, a sense of darkness never truly leaves any of these images alone. 

As a colorful world is painted to step away from a monochromatic reality of grief, the film comes into being. Its voice remains unique and engaging, ensuring that this particular tale of a solitary Duchess stays with you long after you are done watching it.

The Duchess of Zion | Short Film of the Day

‘Alice’ presents to us a protagonist in ribboned pigtails and a whimsical realm of tea parties, complete with miniatures modeled after dreams. In this world of daydreams, however, where is reality truly located? The question becomes central to the narrative as it engages with the idea of maladaptive daydreaming, and a world of escapism that relegates reality and its truths to a far lower rung. 
In an attempt to eschew the emptiness that follows when the illusion breaks, will the protagonist end up accentuating it even more? As this ironical reversal of events is explored, the music video presents a portrayal that is consistent and authentic in its approach and storytelling, supported by equally competent performances in terms of acting, vocals, and music. 
The two, visual and audio narratorial elements, intertwine seamlessly to introduce us to Alice, and her many interactions with a world that only exists in her imagination. While imagination and dreams may be mostly painted as integral parts of a life of creativity, as well as means to enrich existence, the narrative presents a crucial and skilled engagement with the pitfalls that can follow if they are left unchecked.

Alice | Short Film of the Day

The film is a lovely experiment that ties a contemporary pop culture phenomenon, ASMR, with a night in twentieth century New York. As things unravel in quick succession, we are given a brief, but sufficient introduction to the life of Margaret and George Peabody. The narratorial development ensconces itself in an ASMR video where the reality is experienced from the point of view of a child who watches his dog sleep, while overhearing the conversation of the adults in the adjacent room. With a wise execution of its approach and idea, the film presents to us a balanced, cohesive whole, that is all along marked by the common thread of skilled storytelling. Despite the fixed visuals, there is not a moment of insipidity in the plot which, instead, keeps us at the edge of our seats throughout. The tone remains marked by lightheartedness and an omnipresence of humor, despite the dark developments of an explosion and fleeing from the law as the subject matter at hand. When all of this action is coupled with the calming visual of a peacefully sleeping dog, there is indeed little that can go wrong.

Dreamlands | Short Film of the Day

'Starship' is a heartfelt story of dreams, adventure, and relentless perseverance. However, the core of the narrative is constituted by something far more simple, and thereby, endowed with the potential of acquiring an unmissable universality in its appeal. It's the affection and tenderness of a father-daughter bond. The brief duration of the film packs a complete story, defined with neat boundaries of a beginning, middle, and end. A daughter is pushing the frontiers of the universe in pursuit of a goal that is only realized at the film's conclusion. When it arrives, by then not only has the protagonist completed a journey, but so has the plot, as well as the viewer who has come along on this ride. The metaphor of the eternal presence of a parent's love is entwined with competent animation and a fitting background score, tying it all together with a coherent and comprehensive communication of all of these intentions.

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