The internet loves to talk about ‘athleisuring’, with constant reminders of the implicit union of fashion and fitness that it has ushered in. However, despite the obsequiousness of this fashion and social media trend, beyond the greenwashing done by a handful of brands, there is very little conversation around the environmental effects of the same. 

The short film does a notable job of performing this task, earning extra points for the subtlety and ease with which it draws your attention to it. The protagonist of the documentary, Ultrarunner Dan Lawson, works with his partner on the restoration, reuse and upcycling of discarded running shoes. Consequently, instead of ending up in a land-fill, the shoes are allowed a new life. 

The story thus brought to life serves a double-edged purpose of not only highlighting the results achieved by the film's namesake initiative, but also to reveal the glaring absence of efforts on the part of the companies to ensure their products don’t add to the already existing, overwhelming environmental concerns. The narratorial development is marked by ease, brevity and remains lucid throughout in the communication of this very important message.

Rubbish Shoes | Short Film of the Day

Heels, whose history in mainstream society can be mapped back to the sixteenth century courts and male sartorial choices, have now become an indispensable parts of several women's wardrobe. Irrespective of practical concerns like pain and potentially adverse health effects, they remain a symbol of power, sexuality and confidence for innumerable women.

 The documentary film is an exhaustive engagement with the same premise. Its subjects are far and wide across the spectrum - from social media influencers, designers to entrepreneurs to television presenters to even medical experts like podiatrists and chiropractors. The narrative brings in several voices that elucidate not only the historical and cultural significance of heels, but also the health aspect and the manner in which accidents and injuries in heel-wearers is on the rise in the US. 

 The medical professionals draw attention to concerns like hip and back problems, osteoarthritis and joint degeneration. There is also a discussion of the cultural aspect of wearing heels that has convinced women over millennia to subscribe to a standard which, for some, is inherently sexist and justifies the relationship between pain and an imagined idea of external beauty. 

However, the same opinions are then contrasted against those women who have claimed the heels as their own special weapon against the world. What the documentary does in the process is stay true to its nature of objectivity, simply presenting to you the information it has gained without opining or choosing sides. 

 Despite the lucidity of the arguments being made for or against the case of heels, the views do run the danger of becoming repetitive. Consequently, the narrative could have gained from a little more tautness, of both the edit as well as of the ideas being expressed. Having said that, however, the viewer would enjoy interacting with the many voices that make their presence felt in the documentary, in a confident, definitive manner.

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