On the face of it, 'Rat Tail' is an intimate, brave, beautiful account of a person’s relationship with his hair. And yet, as the film evolves and progresses, and before the viewer can realize it, it takes us into a far darker world, eventually tying it all together with an uplifting, heartwarming message. If you have begun to wonder how could all of it be considered an organic, comprehensive or even an entertaining creative endeavor, read on. 

Filmmaker Chad Sogas employs an efficient, sophisticated edit, tied with seamless overlaps of voices from his own life, to present to you a personal account of his battles with mental illness. However, without making it didactic, overbearing or mawkish, all traps a pursuit of this kind can very easily fall into, he offers an uplifting story of hope, recovery and healing. Especially relevant in a world where the pandemic has left us with ravages of a time and existence we all struggled to cope with, the film comes at a very opportune time. 

One of many strengths of the film also becomes its ability to utilize a highly personal narrative in a manner that makes it extremely relatable and inclusive for the audience. Whether your struggles are of a similar nature or not as the protagonist, its enduring and indomitable sense of hope and acceptance will ensure that 'Rat Tail' works wonderfully on multiple levels. From storytelling to approach to narratorial progression, the film offers sophistication and smoothness in all departments, along with having its heart in the right place. After all, what is good art and storytelling, if not simply a reminder, fleeting as it might be, that perhaps we are all in this together?

Rat Tail | Short Film of the Month

The calmness of the narrative would take your breath away, even before we come to its other aspects. It is weaved with poise and quiet, allowing the film to form a deep bond with the viewer despite its short duration. The visuals and the background score further serve to enhance the sentiment. The camera stays while the characters keep moving, the music bleeds into the next scene even when the frame has changed. The black and white palette ensures that the film is stripped of any distracting elements that could have potentially disturbed this calm. Using an economy of dialogues in the voiceover that comes to constitute the only words that would be uttered in the film, a powerful experience is invoked for the audience. The scene is set for a rodeo show in a small town, along with an indelible spectacle the protagonist is about to witness. Through its interaction with his lived reality, the story further raises questions about life, existence, and a person's location in a particular place in the world. The film succeeds most wonderfully because it does not attempt to be anything it's already not - an understated, nuanced conversation about the moments that constitute, influence, and mold existence.

After the Smoke | Short Film of the Day

Our introduction to Johnny is by way of his job as a food delivery executive. Beyond this, however, there seems to be little that constitutes his world. Johnny spends his days, when not making deliveries, living with his mother. His desperate, but well-meaning attempts to carve a life for himself always meet a disappointing end, tinging the protagonist's existence with tragic mundaneness. 

The insipid nature of his life is allowed a skilled portrayal marked by the absence of a background score or music of any kind that would have suggested a break from the monotony. This approach is coupled with a lovely vulnerability brought to life by Tony Falk's performance as the subdued delivery man. Devoid of unnecessary frills and fuss, the film shares a narrative that is steadfast, cohesive and skilfully weaved.
 
However, when things seem bleak without any conceivable escape, Johnny's defence mechanism perhaps makes him believe in the possibility of a better life which can be achieved by way of lottery tickets. If there are no other avenues left for him to try his hand at, maybe it's time to turn to some good, old luck. While the soulless job persists, alongside the complete lack of the social life Johnny longs for, the scratching of lottery tickets continues. It is somewhere between these moments that Someluck conjures its calm story, lucidly communicating the doleful, quiet surrender of an unremarkable and uninspiring life of tedium.

Someluck | Short Film of the Day

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

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

‘Women Lockdown’ is an intensely personal conversation about dreams, hopes, passions, but also things that weigh you down, stand in the way of everything you want or desire. 
The tonality and approach remains beautifully intimate throughout as the narrative introduces us to five women. The authenticity with which their experiences are brought to life allows the film a universality that works most wonderfully in its favor. 

The visuals are experimental, suffused with symbolism and metaphors, coupled with a background score that further amplifies the sentiment the narrative intends to convey. The emotion thus brought to life is honest and poignant, as the conversation, and the ensuing visuals, continue to flow with ease and seamlessness.

Women Lockdown | Short Film of the Day

With his dog as a constant companion, and listener of all his woes, Ari soldiers on trying to figure out the best way to lead his life. Archival footage, and pop culture references, to name a few elements that constitute this colorful, eclectic ride, are imbued with a tone of intimacy and the personal, all along tackling the age-old question echoed in the title - how to live. 

Tied with the internal struggles of an artist, and the meaning they might seek in their creative processes, in the act of constructing something from scratch, the film also presents elements of docufiction as well as of an autobiographical documentary. However, the sentiment that prevails above all is the eventual heartwarming culmination of Ari’s journey. 

The film is a success not simply because it entertains, amuses, and involves, all of which it achieves with ease, but most importantly because it leaves audiences with a sense of invincible hope that only accentuates the narrative's inherent uplifting ideas on life and the wonder of the journey that it has to offer.

How to Live | Short Film of the Month

Stunning visuals of the limitless outdoors - snowclad mountain peaks in all their glory, oceans with water stretching out as far as the eye can see, and cloudy skies that remain forever moving - bring to life this beautiful narrative about change being the only constant. 

The images of nature are interweaved with the fluidity of the human body, suggesting internal struggles and the inability of things to stay still. The choreographed visuals are brief but seamless and expert, allowing the two components, nature and humans, to come together as a composite whole. The end result is crafted with care, is meaningful in its beauty, and perhaps can be explored as a longer project in the future.

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