The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on society in several ways, be it financial, or in terms of health. It has completely shattered our notions of normalcy or what was once considered normative in terms of how we interacted with our professional and personal life. This has been caused by the complete blurring of the lines between the home and the world, and the documentary film is an engagement with the same thought. 

As the name suggests, it takes the viewer into the work-from-home lifestyle of a teacher, and delves into the several aspects of this change that the pandemic forced on her. While juggling household chores and her duties towards her students becomes a daily reality, the narrative invoked to communicate all of this remains controlled and quiet. It does not take shelter in any ornate devices or ostentation, or even spiral away its energy in a feverish fervour. This, in turn, becomes a decision that allows it to succeed at sharing not a story of grandeur and loftiness, but one marked by the mundane and everyday chores. 

Within its folds also lies a comment about the location of women in society where they straddle domesticity as well as the professional space in a manner that is not expected of men. In the process, the film offers an endearing, honest and sincere story, enabled and enhanced specifically by its tone and approach of subtlety and calmness.

Portrait of a Teacher  | Short Film of the Day

The short film introduces the viewer to a queer woman and the manner in which her sexuality has come to define both her private and professional life. The title, in the process, becomes a clear assertion of the hope of attaining a regular life milestone, but one which the normative order of society threatens to deny her. A photographer by profession, Monisha Ajgaonkar is at her candid best as she allows her most vulnerable moments to unfold before the lens, lending the film a notable poignancy. It would have, however, been interesting and more enriching for the film to have explored it further. On the whole, it remains a resounding story, marked by a skilled visual narrative, about an experience all too common in a world that still continues to silence or push aside any gender or sexual identity that endeavours to break away from heteronormativity. In such a scenario, the film does its bit to start and encourage an important conversation.

I Will Also Be Married | Short Film Nominee

The narrative's intention is to explore the lived reality of a lockdown, and the life that existed before it, but in a manner that positions a tree at a pivotal location in the story. Swishing in the wind right outside the protagonist's house, the tree has seen it all. From the various stages of pain and pleasure, to now when the protagonist himself is confined indoors, while the tree is allowed to freely sway in the wind, the narratorial voice invokes it all. Within this portrayal, there is also a message about personal loss which the plot endeavors to bring to life for the viewer to engage with.

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