The third instalment in a series of drone shorts, We Above III is a stunning visual feat, achieved beautifully with a strong edit and a complementary background score. Each of these three elements is a force to reckon with, packing a complete powerhouse within the crisp, concise narrative of the film. The landscapes the visuals cover are far and wide across the globe. From Turkey to Ukraine to Russia and Siberia, to name only a few. Throw in China, Tibet and Mongolia as well and the viewer only begins to touch the tip of the massive iceberg that is this film. 

 It should be noted at this juncture that We Above III does not simply capture nature's mammoths of beauty, overwhelming and towering over humankind's transitory existence. Before you are even able to dabble with this strain of thought, we are introduced to human-made structures, threatening to engulf the horizon they are positioned against. However, in the process, the film becomes an encapsulation, perhaps even a quiet dedication, to the cabin fever that was 2020. Shot at the beginning of the pandemic, the visuals do a remarkable job of not only portraying nature in all its overpowering glory, but also to bring in a sense of despondency from the images of ghost cities and iconic tourist spots that now remain staggering in their emptiness. 

 Aerial shots of desolate landscapes, untouched by human intervention, reign true and free in this remarkable visual narrative, their presence only disturbed by the juxtaposition of human structures. The background score of the film, a fitting cover of Pixies' iconic Where is My Mind by Safari Riot, forms its calm, sturdy backbone. Becoming the most organic, natural sound to the breathtaking visuals before you, it finally leaves you with the question that now, as the world comes out of the indoors it was predominantly confined to in 2020, and gets a taste of the endless outdoors it was left only dreaming about for an entire year, where truly is your mind?

We Above III | Short Film of the Day

The film locates itself in a reality we are all too familiar with, and then ties it with a bizarre premise. The beauty of this union, however, is the seamless manner in which the real and the ridiculous meet, leaving the viewer with the question — is it truly that bizarre to begin with? 

With the Covid-19 pandemic, also came the deluge of fake news of all kinds, gripping the world in a grasp sometimes tighter than of the virus itself. The film introduces us to one such instance where Tony, the protagonist, decides to choose a…fairly untraditional method, to say the least, to safeguard himself against an unnamed virus. 

As the events are realized on screen, the film offers a lighthearted take, though not without its suggestion of darkness, on self-medication, conspiracy theories and the effects of misinformation masquerading as facts, ensuring that their consumers end up incorporating the most absurd claims into their daily lives. The narrative does not waste a single beat, and employs each moment judiciously to bring the story to life. With a fun subversion of the words in its title, ‘Herd Immunity’ becomes an entertaining, intelligent ride marked by humor and ease of storytelling.

Herd Immunity  | Short Film of the Month

'Wuhan Driver' is a timely, and crucial story that speaks of the many faces of racism. Overt and insidious, intentional and unconscious, systemic and loudly enforced - racism has many forms, and the short film is a sincere endeavor in exploring them. 

Essentially the story of only one night when a driver attempts to turn up for his job, and execute the tasks that follow, the film proposes how when the same tasks are viewed through the lens of race, everything changes. How the rise of a virus in a part of the world across the globe is blamed on a man in the US simply because he looks a certain way or speaks differently. In the process, the absurdity of it all is pronounced emphatically and unequivocally by the narrative. 

The confined physical space of the visuals further echo this sense of isolation that surrounds the protagonist, someone in a space that refuses to accept him as its own. The film is an important story, and it is a very welcome prospect to look forward to more storytelling by Tiger Ji, as his voice evolves and grows to find its footing.

Wuhan Driver | Short Film of the Day

The film premises itself on the age-old philosophical question - if an event occurs, but there is no one to perceive it, did it take place at all? If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, did it fall at all? When the evasive and seemingly unachievable answer to this question is tied with the contemporary reality of a pandemic, that forced people into isolation with their thoughts, its significance can potentially achieve staggering proportions, as is also true for the protagonist and her lived experience in Sway. The film drops hints throughout its narrative about the direction it is headed in for the attentive viewer. The beauty of the story does not lie in confronting its core dilemma, one that arises out of loneliness, and the extent you're willing to go to fight it off, but in the realisation of its inevitability. It is precisely for this reason that the narrative does not become any less engaging or lose its impact even after it has revealed all of its cards to you. Completely shot indoors, Sway is further a noticeable piece of art to come out of a quarantined existence. As the protagonist struggles with notions of reality and illusion, compelling the audience to perhaps face the confusion and unanswered questions within, there is a coherent and cohesive plot presented forth to drive the message home in a skilled manner.

Sway | Short Film of the Day

Boundaries is a mingling of dance and music in order to allow an emotional expression that transcends the many limitations that can sometimes plague verbal communication. As the film introduces you to Cristina Teresa Hall, a world renowned flamenco dancer, it invokes a conversation on the myriad elements that inhabit the emotional, mental, and sometimes, even the creative space, only to find articulation in the fluidity of physical movement. 

Locating itself within the symmetry of the Saint Joseph's Art Society, in San Francisco, USA, the video offers the portrayal of a mood that is marked by a notable resonance in a world where a pandemic redefined for us what it meant to hurt, drown in despair, and yet, overcome it to find hope all over again. 

 It is precisely when you may have been convinced that now the body is exhausted and lies at rest, it rises again, to the beat of the music, following the same rhythm it had learnt to follow all along. 

In the process, the video shares its intentions equipped with a judicious employment of metaphors and symbolism that, in turn, enable it to offer a cohesive, comprehensive narrative to the viewer.

Boundaries | Short Film of the Day

The world has battled the coronavirus pandemic desperately and long enough to make the phrase 'the new normal' more than just a simple, oft-repeated set of words. The short film takes the same thought a step further to imagine a reality after about a year since March 2020 to bring to life a perfectly average, mundane occurrence, but in a post-Covid world. Now, this is a time marked by detailed health measures and palm-sized devices that update the user on-the-go about their body temperature. These little touches and elements allow the story to be complete with humour, and a sense of absurdity which now simply seems part of contemporary social norms. A man and a woman meet at a bar. However, since the world is already afflicted with enough complications, especially marring the dynamics and equations of dating, they waste no time in getting to the point. And yet, irrespective of one's desire for companionship, safety and health remain paramount. Thus ensues a detailed exchange of information as being safe on a date acquires a whole new meaning in a society that is only just coming out of a pandemic. The film remains entertaining and engaging throughout, enhanced with energy and verve that is also translated in the chemistry of its only two actors, and the intimacy it strives for with a generous use of handheld shots.

The New Normal | Short Film Nominee

The Covid-19 pandemic ushered with it a reality that deprived us completely of any semblance of the world as we knew it. Amidst every corner of the virtual space spewing words like "the new normal" and "unprecedented times", and the tedium of video calls and incessant work meetings, we were left drowning in this abruptly changed, completely alien way of life. 

The short film conjures the same reality as it takes us into the experiences of the protagonist, a woman who is quarantined by herself. While disturbing news headlines continue to break the silence of her empty house, the consequent emotional and physical isolation threatens to overpower her existence further. If the lockdown had begun with a routine of exercise, fulfilling work duties and finding a general order to things in life during lockdown, it has now devolved into despair, lethargy and lack of interest in the same activities which had once kept her afloat. 

 While we may be all too familiar with the bleakness and despondency that came to predominate our lives during this time, the plot wants to take it a step further and remind you of the hope that still shines through it. Though the pandemic might have brought the world to a halt, we are all indeed together in it, and the film wants to simply employ the thought as a reminder that this too will be over soon, enabling us to emerge out of it stronger.

On Repeat | Short Film Nominee

The film draws a parallel as well as finds the overlapping moment between a global crisis and one that unfolds in the private, intimate space of domesticity. The story is of a family which finds itself grappling with not only the coronavirus pandemic and the consequent physical distance between its members, but also emotional distance and the pain it leaves in its wake. The predominant part of the visuals are constituted by video calls and screens where the characters present their conflicts for the viewer to witness. A man finds himself stranded on the opposite coast from his family. This distance between him and his son echoes one which had existed even before the lockdown. As innocently questioned by his son, who wonders why did he not see his father enough before the coronavirus locked them inside, the plot presents the audience with its core concern - tackling emotional complexities that come to constitute relationships. The film is a zealous attempt to tell a personal, but relatable story located in a world that is ravaged by all kinds of obstacles, especially those that stand in the path of reducing the distance between our loved ones. There is also the suggestion of perhaps attaining a realisation that could have only been achieved during a time as unprecedented as a pandemic, and it is in that, in a time of intense tribulations, that love and hope truly shine through, the narrative seems to suggest.

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