The story opens and closes with a suggestion of social media, an unmissable presence that will come to pervade the entire plot in a subtle manner. It is the distance that the film covers in between that endeavors to horrify and shock the viewer. This is supplemented by the portrayal of primarily one development - the arrival of a book at the protagonist’s doorstep. It is a cozy, wintery night, the lights are dim, the room warm, and yet, it soon becomes apparent that something sinister lurks underneath this image of domesticity. Even though the film loses some points when it comes to lighting, it remains equipped with elements of storytelling that will engage and involve the viewer all along.

The Book Trend | Short Film Nominee

Trigger Warning: Sexual assault 

The world of Swaang is one marked by few dialogues, but detailed action. The story reveals its cards gradually, taking the viewer into a dark, disturbing reality. At its opening, the film gives little inkling of the direction it is headed in. Instead, it introduces us to what seems like an average day in the life of a transgender woman. 

As she moves from one aspect of her life to another, a comment is also conjured on society’s relationship with those who do not conform to its heteronormative boundaries. If on a macro level a statement is being made about the location of the marginalized in society, at a micro level the protagonist has some very serious developments awaiting her. 

Her world gets embroiled in the underbelly of a space where the marginalized find it even more difficult to make themselves heard. Images of violence, rage and assault, along with performances that exhibit potential, are further roped in as storytelling tools, eventually leaving the viewer with a disconcerting narrative about a person’s struggle to reconcile their identity with their lived reality.

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