A painter finds himself overwhelmed by his memories and the past, which eventually begin to block his creative energies as well. It is primarily a conversation with these obstacles that come to form the main body of the film. Marked by its calm visuals, that effortlessly, and perhaps even consciously, steer clear of gaudiness and ostentation, the film thus becomes a quiet portrayal of a man's interactions with his grief over a seemingly recent loss. The film attempts several things - a delineation of an artist's process of creating something, the manner in which his past experiences tie up with it, the failure to let them find a voice on his canvas and the eternal battle to conquer them, both despite and because of personal tragedy. Pentimento, essentially aiming to convey the change an artist might make in the process of painting, achieves all of this through its seamless and elegant camerawork, further enhanced by sophisticated and convincing performances. All of these elements are finally tied together by poignant storytelling, allowing the film to be a wonderfully wholesome product.

Pentimento | Short Film of the Day

When you are done watching ‘He Won’t Belong’, an emotional resonance lingers. In the loss, grief, and trauma the narrative portrays, even in how the visuals wrap themselves around all of these sentiments, the lingering remains omnipresent. 

The film is the story of two strangers, Theo and Connor, stumbling across each other in the most unlikely manner. The former finds the latter wandering alone by the side of the road during a storm. The chance encounter, however, leads the two, and the viewer along with them, down a path of deep emotional truths, sometimes painful, sometimes disturbing, but forever demanding to be felt and acknowledged. 

The authenticity of the voice with which the film is constructed remains loud and clear. Additionally, it presents an approach to queer storytelling that explores the nuance and complexity of personal journeys that is often easy to overlook. The performances bring to life a remarkable portrayal of vulnerability as they explore ideas of love with heartbreaking honesty. The visual progression is equally stunning, painting for the viewer an image that will stay with you, linger, as it may, long after you are done watching the film.

He Won't Belong   | Short Film of the Month

The film is notably impactful in its brevity. The story is a powerful account of the overwhelming experience of a miscarriage that its protagonist, Margot has recently undergone. The subsequent narrative is not weighed down by verbal profusions of any kind. 

Instead, the palpability of emotions weaving the narrative together becomes the most overarching force, reducing everything else to the background. The writing, screenwriting, and performances all support this endeavor all the way, ensuring that the end result of the film is deeply moving and poignant. 

The realm of ‘Fly-Tipping’ is constructed with the utmost care, ensuring that it succeeds in communicating all of this and some more - what could have been had the pregnancy run its full course? What might have caused its abrupt termination? Would they have been good parents? As the two characters lie on the abandoned, bloodstained mattress in the middle of a field, the clouds continue to carry these questions and thoughts away into nothingness.

Fly-Tipping | Short Film of the Day

Trigger warning: This video contains fast flashing images which might be unsuitable for photosensitive viewers. 

A lonely woman living a quiet life away from untapped potential, an empty mansion and an overbearing tragedy of the past - these three elements conjure the world of the film for you. The Duchess, a young woman who has dealt with traumatic loss right at the start of her life, one that casts an overwhelming shadow on her entire existence in the present, finds herself taking refuge in a world of fantasy and excesses. 

The film's true triumph lies in the path that it chooses to delineate its intentions. It opens with powerful, transitory and fast-paced images that set the mood and tone for what is to follow. We are presented with a suggestion of Ophelia, serpents, female figures running carefree in the woods, lying in a meadow of blossoms, and yet, a sense of darkness never truly leaves any of these images alone. 

As a colorful world is painted to step away from a monochromatic reality of grief, the film comes into being. Its voice remains unique and engaging, ensuring that this particular tale of a solitary Duchess stays with you long after you are done watching it.

The Duchess of Zion | Short Film of the Day

Theo lives by himself and is not always super enthusiastic about social interaction, be it over the phone or attending an event with a friend. However, within this life of consciously chosen quiet, an unexpected development occurs one day when a pizza boy arrives with the order. 

Moments of tension which is later undercut, and humor are interweaved seamlessly to present the developing circumstance to the viewer. A conversation ensues between the two characters in the most effortless ways, leading the viewer, and more surprisingly, the protagonist, down some very unexpected paths. In the process, an intimate story of loss, grief, and notably, of shared love between two brothers, comes into existence. 
Never burdened with sentimentalism, the film’s emotional spectrum remains lucid and impactful throughout, ensuring that all its intentions are expressed and portrayed expertly. It is further marked by well-defined visual grammar and progression that bring Theo’s world, as well as his emotional landscape to life, with ease alongside the free-flowing chemistry of the two actors.

Me + Lee | Short Film of the Day

‘Le Miroir’ is a wonderful romance, magical in its visuals, storytelling as well as thematic concerns, with an otherworldly existence that two women lead. Mathilde and Madame B have both known love, loss and heartache, and now find the tragedies of the past an overpowering presence in their lives, one that shapes and molds all of their actions in the present. 

The portrayal of this premise is achieved with a stroke of fantasy, but as any enduring fantasy tale, very rooted in the real world, and in this case, one that is defined by grief, pain, and eventually finding one’s voice and the ability to use it. The movement of the narrative from the moment when Mathilde stops speaking following the death of her parents, to when she utters her first word, involuntarily and in the wake of an accident, forms the completed trajectory of its core underpinnings. 

At the heart of it all is the lovely motif of a mirror, along with both its fragility and resilience, and the unexpected paths it takes our protagonist on. The storytelling in itself is marked by a beautiful, shared female space, whip pans and sets which are any art department’s dream, further bringing to life the humor reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, and an overall atmospheric quality of European cinema.

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