It is at the intersection of emotional lines and the literal geometry of physical architecture that 'Refracted' is born. Gordi (Sophie Payten)'s haunting vocals are coupled with symmetrical structures that allow their intimacy, marked by a disconcerting beauty, to find visual representation. Lights and shadows are employed to suggest different levels of intensity, along with a whole spectrum of emotions getting echoed in the lyrics. 

 The music is equipped with an elemental incandescence that ensures that the final product works on multiple levels. Combining two of Gordi's creations - Extraordinary Life and Volcanic, as they are performed within the walls of the Phoenix Central Park in Sydney, Australia, the music video acquires a separate existence of its own. Its seamless, sophisticated visuals become the protagonist in themselves, alongside Gordi's spectral presence on screen. 

Additionally, both the performer and the performance, only serve to complement and enhance one another. On the whole, the final result comes to be marked by a powerful otherworldly quality that further ties together the various elements in an elegant, notable and skilled manner.

Refracted | Short Film of the Month

The single-take visual narrative of Kindred Bodies takes us into an otherworldly, idyllic space marked by its lush green. At the centre of this ethereal location, rest two characters, perhaps a forest nymph and satyr. And yet, as the narrative introduces them further, the message they seem to convey is very much of this world, about the emotional realities of the two characters who stand as metaphors for the emotions and individual experiences of any and all viewers finding an echo in their movement. 

 The fluidity of the dance, marked by the lithe and sophisticated flow of the bodies, serves to portray a realm where emotions are allowed a free and open expression. No longer denied or garbed under expectations or forced protocols of imagined decorum, it is in this space of wilderness that two people find a way to truly communicate to each other. 

 The film exhibits a notable employment of elegant movement, doing justice to the performance before us. It further allows the camerawork to utilize the space, and the action that unfolds within it, a dedicated and worthy delineation for the viewer to interact with. While a more static approach would have been the less risky option, it would have been less enriching as well, and the final result goes ahead to prove that.

Kindred Bodies | Short Film Nominee

Without warning or preparation, the viewer is hurled headlong into a world marked by shadows and shivering frames. As a visual bleeds into another, a nightmarish reality of unknown terrors and fear is invoked. A deeper introduction to this disconcerting world makes one realize a sense of entrapment, claustrophobia and what seems to be an endless path of doors and windows that only serve to give rise to a transitory hope of escape, only for it to be dashed again to the ground. 

The dark reality perhaps presents a metaphor about the several complexities of the human mind that enable it to be the most powerful form of incarceration that can exist for someone, as is the case for the protagonist. As phantoms of figures move in and out of his memories, or this realm of endless corridors and doors that lead to nowhere, the metaphor attains a life of its own, allowing itself an extra layer of depth and texture in a world that has battled the many emotional and mental demons that followed in the wake of the pandemic. 

The final result, made possible by the dedication of a lean cast and crew, invokes all of these possibilities and more. This, in turn, leaves one with the suggestion that the short film could simply be a premise for a longer, more detailed project that could build on it with the inherent potential of being much, much bigger than what it already is.

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