The autobiographical documentary, a fairly loose category to define everything that the film offers, introduces us to Jem and Anna, and their relationship which ended seven years before the film begins to explore it. 

It is when the two decide to make a film on their shared past, nearly a decade after it seemingly concluded, that 'Baby Grand' begins to stretch its limbs, eventually presenting to you a story about memory, creative reconstruction, past, intimacies, vulnerabilities and how none of these can ever operate within absolutes, always bleeding, merging, and blending into one another. 


Consequently, more than definite points, the film becomes a product that is marked by its blurred lines, overlapping boundaries of reality, art, emotions and relationships. Without ever realizing, the viewer is invested in the outcome of this relationship, in the eventual fate of the (former?) lovers. At some point, the cameras and the lights disappear, and you are simply part of a very personal conversation, perhaps even eavesdropping. The film says, “When you recreate memories, you end up recreating feelings too”. It is indeed in this recreation that much of the film’s underpinnings come to take a distinct form. 



The characters, remarkable in their own right, are two disparate personalities. The quirkiness and eccentricities of one being offset by the reclusive, quiet body language of another. It is evident how at one point they could have been drawn to each other, and how at another, pushed each other away. 'Baby Grand', thus, becomes a love letter to their former selves, to a relationship that is lost, but not forgotten. It is precisely in this manner that the film ensures that though the relationship in itself is not constituted by anything supremely unique, it’s portrayal and storytelling stays with you long after you are done watching the film.

Baby Grand | Short Film of the Month

‘Youth’ is a lovely conversation with the sharpness of pain we specifically associate with our firsts, or the years that would eventually go ahead to serve the foundation of adulthood. It is an interaction with a fresh heart that is perhaps yet to see its share of tragedies. All of this is mapped against the intimacy of friendship, and consequently, the soul crushing realization that comes with its deprivation. 

As we are taken into a single afternoon when two girls say their goodbyes, the circumstance comes to be defined by anger, denial and helplessness. Additionally, locating itself in the late nineties, there is further a texture added to the narratorial development, while also emphasizing a time before the internet and social media have made their inevitable appearance on the horizon of urban lives. 

Sarah and Jessica share an endearing friendship, one that faces a crucial crossroads. The film does a sophisticated job of allowing the viewer to witness this moment, along with all the poignancy that it entails.

Youth | Short Film of the Day

The film is an existential musing about the tenuous relationship between humans and the animal world, with intrinsic violence located at its heart. 

The interaction between the two unfolds after a tragic attack in which the protagonist, a young deer, loses her mother to a human bullet. As she now finds herself consumed by vengeful anger, a path of revenge, and what it could mean for someone who sees it as their sole escape out of heartache, loss, and grief, becomes a crucial driving force of the film. Additionally, there is something to be said about an endeavor that is founded on the desire for such violent retribution and the futility it might usher in. 

While portraying all of this, the narrative places the agency with the animals who present their perspective regarding the human world to the viewer. Anthromorphozing them offers a canvas of emotions, a story of loss and heartache, a first-hand account of the misery our young protagonist battles. The subsequent screenplay offers an interweaving of nature and outdoors, with human brutality, ensuring that the film's many components are able to share all of their intentions with clarity and emphasis.

Animals | Short Film of the Day

The film is a meaningful exploration of love in all its intimacy and affection, and the pitfalls and doldrums that might sometimes accompany it. The first element that takes us into the protagonist, Alice's world is the opening night of her play. Alongside the performance on stage, and our introduction to its creator, the narrative ropes in a non-linear trajectory to give a glimpse into situations and realizations that led to this play. 
From endearing romance to heartache, an emotional spectrum is conjured with care and attention to detail. While a conflict unfolds on stage, it is reflected in a parallel strife that is simmering between Alice, and Jesse, an impatient member of the audience, and as we soon discover, her former boyfriend. The two continue to spar in the brief moments of the interval with no end visible in sight to their discontent and disagreements. However, at the same time, a wish fulfillment of sorts, something that could never come to be in real life, is achieved on stage. 
The portrayal of the protagonist is unmissable in its performance, exhibiting deep potential, as the film's many components are shared with the audience. This is further coupled with writing, and screenplay, both of which attempt to play around with the sound edit and music to communicate the film’s intentions in a cohesive manner.

Writing You Down | Short Film of the Day

A bunch of most unlikely characters find themselves in a uniquely strange situation, and it is at this point that the narrative begins to reveal its cards. Two men are arrested by a police officer after having been caught doing recreational drugs, and soon after a series of hilarious, unfortunate and unexpected events begin to unfold. The story thus comes to be marked by heartbreak, a former lover and a desire for revenge exploited by the two men in the hope of being allowed to be set free by the cops. Because the film starts off with such a distinctive premise, of course the viewer is in for an interesting ride. As matters come to a head, one of the two men comes to the rescue of the heartbroken cop as an attempt at a negotiation chip. The plan is to beat up the current lover of the latter's former lover. The film realises its intentions with a stylistic approach marked by sharp camera movements and complementary background music. It invokes laughter at the expense of the misadventures of the characters presented forth, like a quintessential comical story, and finally concludes with having given the audience a glimpse into a night of comedic and bizarre moments, while also being engaging and entertaining all along.

Perps | Short Film Nominee

The short film introduces us to two meetings that are six months apart and vastly different from each other. If one marks an end, heartbreak and farewells, the other invokes hope and possibilities that the future holds, along with the promise of something truly wonderful waiting at the horizon. Max has gotten his heart broken by a woman he was deeply in love with. As he struggles to overcome the heartache and hurt, he finds himself in the same spot where it happened months ago. However, his solitude is soon broken by a chirpy stranger, Sabrina, who ensures that the two end up going on a lunch date. Through the conversation that is conjured between them, the narrative shares its views on what it means to live with pain, and to eventually find a way to overcome it. The tone remains light throughout, not weighing itself down with an overly sentimental approach, in the process offering the viewer a simple, sweet story of primarily a single afternoon.

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