The opening music offers a sweet vibe. A friendly looking, young man, confesses his love to the camera.
He is rehearsing a proposal for his childhood best friend. Reading from his
notes, and breaking into smiles for the camera, he is rehearsing his sincerity. The music soon becomes delightful, conveying his
confidence that the girl he’s in love with, his best friend, is going to say ‘yes’! 
But the film is sub-titled 'a tangled tale' for a reason. The screenplay deftly picks up words, image and
memory of one (the boy), and connects them with the other (the girl), like a thread, tying one end with
the other. However, the more the episodes collate, the more knots the thread gets entangled in.
Relationships are complex. Matters of the heart are not easy. 
But the film tries to tread these arduous paths softly, delicately and with hope; just as the path to love is
supposed to be. Take a leap of faith, a sweet surprise awaits you!

Thread | Short Film of the Day

The skill and smoothness of the visuals are the first thing that strike the viewer about Deliverance. After having established the horizon of expectation, the film ensures that it does not dip in its pace or technique as the story unfolds on screen. Two ascetics are performing the last rites of a person when an unexpected woman arrives at this quiet, remote corner of a forest. The brook flows swiftly, threatening to carry a less attentive passer-by with the strong current. Thus, one of the men carries her over his shoulders across the water body. The scene which had thus far been one of simplicity, devoid of any worldly indulgences, is suddenly marked by a potentially visceral sensuality, the all-male space disturbed by femininity. By its own admission, the film is based on a parable about the idea of deliverance or mukti, a sense of perhaps corporeal and, eventually, spiritual liberation that one achieves after a long observation of abstention. Within its folds is also a comment about the importance of controlling your thoughts which eventually become the root of all action, and how futile regulating the latter without the former can prove to be. The same intention is endeavored to be conveyed by employing a cohesive and engaging narrative.

Deliverance | Short Film of the Day

‘Love in Kalimpong’ is a mellow story of love found in an unexpected place during an even more unexpected encounter. Its pacing is consistently calm and sustained all along. The narrative introduces us to Rishi first who is visiting Kalimpong with his fellow band members for a performance. 

As they explore the region, he runs into Iris, a talented, mysterious musician who draws him deeper and deeper into her world. What follows next is a story defined by anger, emotions, song and music, and a neat tying together of all of these elements. 

The film loses a few points when it comes to the seamlessness of its sound department but remains marked by earnestness throughout, along with an unmissable, sincere portrayal of Iris by Rajeswari.

Love in Kalimpong | Short Film Nominee

The world of 'Jasmine' is dark, shadowy and constituted by tales of the supernatural. Alina, a single mother in Kalimpong inhabiting her ancestral property with her daughter Jasmine, often hosts men as guests in her homestay. Implicit in this are the sexual liaisons that are shared between the host and her guests. 

Once the premise has been established, the story begins with the arrival of Kush all the way from Delhi. As the plot progresses, young Jasmine is located at the heart of the developing drama, revealing to both Kush and the viewer a world of violent rituals, sacrifices and human skulls, all in the name of a deity that requires appeasement by a terrible annual act. 

The film notably blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, with a dual narrative coming into existence between Jasmine and her mother. Uncertainty engulfs the plot, making it a defining aspect, leaving the viewer with multiple versions of the truth, and in the process, foiling their desires of a neat conclusion in a deliberate, and entertaining manner.

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