The short film attempts a lot of things and succeeds at all of them most gloriously. The narrative is an engagement with the transience and impermanence of things in so many ways. It foregrounds the inexorable passage of time felt in every moment of it, further emphasised by the voice of the narrator, overflowing with a gravity that will set the pace just right for the plot to develop. The film is also a visual feat achieved most effortlessly by the seamless weaving together of a sprinkling of live action visuals with stunning animation. Primarily using the location of a beach the protagonist grew up on, the sand in itself becomes a character, the medium of narration, taking the viewer by the hand on her journey. There is still so much more the film engages with - female friendships, the forever forward moving path of life from childhood to adulthood, an underlying strain of homosexuality, the relationship between the past, and the present and the unreliability of memory. Guaxuma does a stellar job of tying it all together, without making it look like a laborious task, and before the viewer can realise it, they have covered a huge distance within while seemingly partaking in the experiences of the protagonist.

Guaxuma | Short Film of the Day

The film opens on a note of chirpy voices and brotherly banter being exchanged between two siblings. This is in direct contrast with the deeply intense and poignant themes the narrative would come to be an engagement with. After a crisis, thirteen-year-old Joey and his eight-old-brother Ricardo return to start a new chapter of their life with their mother. The scene is of nervous anticipation and feverish excitement on the part of the mother, clearly elated to have her sons back. Joey, on the other hand, is controlled and calm, setting in place another notable contrast. The visuals serve to assert this contrast further as Joey stands against a brightly-lit window, light just within reach, while he stays completely covered in shadows. His mother's effusive love is met with a sombre, "I'm thirteen, mom", a reminder to treat him like a grown-up. It is evident from the progression of the story that these little disagreements of approach of the two is building up to a bigger clash. A night of celebration soon acquires a ominous tone, further put in place by a smart, if not entirely unique, use of lights. As memories of a past life resurface, the emotional darkness that accompanies them threatens to engulf the precarious happiness of the night with misery, anger and resentment. Basing itself on a true story, the short film thus becomes a successful and notable portrayal of the several nuances and complexities that plague the familial space. This is further enhanced by a plot that succeeds at offering a beautiful interplay of the many forces that pull the various components of a family apart, and the resilience that ensures that they keep pushing and falling back into place.

Crows Nest | Short Film of the Day

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

The film’s reality is one of complexities and nuances, and yet, the ideas are presented to the audience with unmissable ease and clarity. The narrative straddles a sense of the past and the present. 

A woman is swiftly losing her grasp on her memories, forgetting more than she can remember. The fear and heartbreak that this flow of events ushers in is mapped against a beautiful, bright summer where a young woman is the constant companion of the older, ageing one. 

Through the interactions of the two, perhaps the woman’s interactions with her own self, we are presented a thoughtful realm of stories, the pain of separation even if sometimes it is the very cost of existence itself, and the pressing, urgent need to let go, if one is to truly accept the inexorable movement of time. All of this is constructed with a visual landscape that is evocative and skilled in its control and in all that it conveys. The screenplay and the performances only serve to strengthen it further, alongside a tonality and approach to writing and storytelling that should definitely be engaged with further in more such endeavors.

Everything in This World Is Exactly What It Is | Short Film Nominee

‘Mirage’ is a skilfully executed film, free-flowing and effortless in the visual progression of the events. The story talks of love, intimacy, betrayal, and infidelity. However, the most important of all the entities on the emotional spectrum of the film is nostalgia, something that acquires a substantial presence within the narrative in the form of a drug that allows you to revisit the joys of the past when you take it. 

Adam and Loli navigate the many complexities of their relationship which seems on the brink of collapse, and the film comes into being. The performances and screenplay support it notably, presenting a young filmmaking voice with immense promise. 

Addiction, memory, intimacy, and the fallout of deep love turning into deep hurt all unite as one in this endeavor which remains heartfelt throughout. The question that remains central to the narrative, however, is — can drowning yourself in the thought of what once was, save you from the consequences of your actions in the swiftly unraveling present?

Mirage | Short Film of the Day

The film opens on a quiet note of a calm voice-over weaved with a blank background. This, in no, way prepares you for the events that are about to unfold, deliberately taking you in a direction opposite to what may have been assumed so far. When a woman introduces you to a man, the first instance is to let yourself be deceived into this being a love story. On the contrary, it would be a story of violence, hurt, and most importantly, of a panic attack. 

The moment the viewer finds themselves located at the heart of Lisa's desperate attempts to bring herself back from a panic attack using sense grounding, most skilfully employed within the body of the narrative, little do they realise that they have already been sucked into the story beyond the point of return. The narrative then follows a non-linear, back and forth movement to conjure the past events that led to this intensely emotional moment for the protagonist. 

As the drama is built gradually, tactfully withholding and revealing information in turns, it is evident that we are headed towards an inevitable disaster. It is indeed in the realization of this lack of control in stopping the forward motion towards a potential catastrophe that the true success of the film lies. It further makes a pertinent, emphatic comment about violence and abuse in intimate equations and relationships, eventually leaving you with a conclusion which, though disturbing, is tinged with poetic justice, and for the morbid viewer, perhaps even with a strange sense of satisfaction.

Sense Memory | Short Film of the Day

The film opens with a troubled reality, and located at its centre is Saurabh, a man who battles several burdens of longing, separation, and grief. Between visuals of a happier past and a present that is far removed from it, the story is conjured for the viewer. It is one about parenthood, and its many aches if a father is denied that role. 

Now separated from his daughter, Kriti, he attempts to find a way back to her by stepping into the world of a sci-fi story she once wrote and shared with him. Much of the action unfolds by way of long, sustained visuals, devoid of all dialogue. 

The screenplay is constructed thoughtfully. The choice of the background score elevates it further, ensuring that the few raw edges in terms of visuals are easier to overlook. The storytelling further leverages the power of AI to bring all of it to life, while ensuring its voice remains clear and well-defined all along.

The Pod | Short Film Nominee

Florence is celebrating her sixtieth birthday with her family, but despite the celebration, a dark pall is cast on the moment. Right underneath the cheer, a dark development simmers, waiting to make its presence felt at the slightest provocation. Soon the viewer is introduced to the protagonist’s battle with dementia, and the many devastating and irrevocable ways in which it has begun to affect every aspect of her life. 

Despite the love and support of her two concerned children, Sarah and Matt, along with an important work project up her sleeve, one about composing music for a reinterpretation of a Russian fairy tale, Florence now finds herself battling a disease, a disconcerting reality that simply cannot be overcome. 

Through the many conversations that the narrative holds with its protagonist, and the metaphors that are conjured in the process, the film does more than its bit to raise awareness about not only the illness, but also how it affects the loved ones of those afflicted with it. The writing is sensitive, the performances dedicated and earnest. Consequently, the end result becomes a whole that educates, but also, presents its story with sincerity.

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