Claire returns to high school after perhaps the most difficult summer of her life. Drowning in the loss of a familial space that she had known her whole life, and the grief that followed this loss, she is unable to invest herself beyond the bare minimum in the school work and activities that await her on this side of the summer. This eventually leads her to a theater class, the main circumstance that would not only dominate the body of the narrative, but also become the focal point on which the most seminal action of the story would pivot. 

The narrative that thus comes into existence is one that is marked by emotion, the inability to comprehend or address its complexity for a teenager, and an unexpected sense of hope that is eventually found in confronting it anyway. The tonality of the film is marked by a calmness that definitely works in its favour. The mellow nature is matched by the visuals which, albeit not devoid of color, remain deliberately understated. 

The only reservation the viewer might have is that though the story sets out on an important, compelling course, it does not entirely go all the way in terms of execution. However, this is a hindrance that can be easily overcome in subsequent projects by the team, with the prospect of more storytelling by them surely being something to look forward to.

First Day | Short Film Nominee

The first aspect of the film that is highly likely to catch your attention is its inherent objectivity. It does not take sides or garner sympathy for one character or apathy for the other. There are no fixed black and white categories for you to subscribe to, and that works in the plot's favor. The story is of an unexpected development when a man stumbles across the house of an old, high-school mate. Another man opens the door. Not exactly the picture of hospitality, he is reluctant to let a stranger, who claims they went to school together, into his house. However, he allows him anyway, and the two soon find themselves reminiscing a world long gone by. While superficially it is a meeting that is expected to be marked by nostalgia, and though a wistfulness, but one subdued with fond remembrance, the narrative soon takes a turn towards deeper concerns - of bullying and the consequent trauma. The several elements are tied together, making it evident to the viewer that the film is headed towards a dramatic crescendo before it achieves its eventual conclusion, and it is this which will come to determine the fate of its two characters. The significance of the ensuing climax also heightens, for it will finally serve to dispel the viewer's unease which has been at work without them consciously realising it. While the objectivity remains in place throughout, matters continue to come to a head, leaving it up to the viewer to decide which side of the film's proposition they will locate themselves on.

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