Made as a montage of glossy visuals, the short film endeavours to draw the viewer's attention to a more disturbing reality. The coronavirus pandemic has ensured that people get confined to their homes globally, and the film is a portrayal of the same. It opens on a fairly harmless note, but progresses faster than the viewer has expected so far. The film does not give in to sentimentalism or loud visuals to convey its message. Instead, it manages to invoke the right amount of discomfort, strong enough to spur the viewer into action, by an image, for instance, as simple as perfectly delicious looking food being pushed into a dustbin without a second thought. Aimed at reminding the viewer of being aware of their privilege, the film does its bit to highlight the plight of the less fortunate in a world currently struggling to get back on its feet.

Privileged Lockdown | Short Film Nominee

The music video adopts an experimental approach in its visuals to highlight the importance of protecting and saving the environment from any further damage than has been already done to it as a result of mankind's endless greed. Plastic is choking the planet, our oceans and water bodies are overflowing with it, while marine life continues to suffer beneath the burden of it all. What the video does is use a popular Bollywood song to remind the viewer of the extent of the harm done to the environment. With its cast of only two dancers in a minimalist frame, the narrative makes a dedicated effort to remind its audience to wake up and pay heed to the planet's plea for help before its too late.

Things. Love. Pollution | Short Film Nominee

The strongest aspect of the film is definitely its writing and exploration of love and romantic equations. When a successful dancer meets a struggling entrepreneur for a date, they hit it off instantly. However things soon go sour as they discover their differences of opinions when it comes to matters of the heart. The script is well-written and conjures engaging ideas about what it means for two people to be together. As the characters argue it out, both presenting their respective sides of the argument, the audience is too presented with sufficient food for thought. The story also employs a non-linear narratives to present forth these ideas. Which side would you find yourself aligning with?

Love* Conditions Apply | Short Film Nominee

The eighties gave us an iconic cinema adaptation of the Ray Nelson sci-fi short story Eight O'Clock in the Morning; the film version was called They Live. Truth or Trash is a short film that endeavours to weave the same narrative - the story of a man finding a pair of sunglasses that reveals to him a truth about society buried somewhere deep under subliminal messaging and media propaganda. It comes across as a sincere attempt to play with graphics and editing to drive its message home, and is likely to catch the unsuspecting viewer by surprise.It further progresses to reveal an overwhelming reality. However, how will the protagonist cope with it - will it be a full-throttle confrontation or the safety and transitory peace of denial and escapism that he would choose?

Praveen Whitefield

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