The importance of art, if it intends to be the fountainhead of societal change, is its ability to simplify and put forth complex ideas, intricacies and nuances of our lived reality. Raja Beta succeeds precisely in achieving that, in holding up the mirror to the patriarchal oppression and discrimination in Indian society. Coupling animated visuals, devoid of clutter or garrulousness, with a skilled, lucid and comprehensive voiceover, the film puts forth its narrative, one that questions an Indian family's biases and hypocrisy manifested in the manner in which they raise their sons and daughters. The film further calls out internalised misogyny and perpetration of rape culture that we often encourage unconsciously in our day-to-day lives. Its message is shared with the viewer in no equivocal terms, allowing the film to be a relevant and much-needed comment on our deeply flawed approach in understanding and handling gender.

Raja Beta | Short Film of the Day

The music video is strangely feel-good and uplifting despite the dark topic it deals with. A man after finding earth unliveable for his beloved and their unborn child, sets out on a space adventure to find a habitable planet. Whether or not his quest is successful, the journey of colourful images in itself turns out to be an interesting one to go on with the protagonist. The hopeful vocals become a gentle reminder of how art can indeed save the day no matter how bleak and dark things seem in the world. If not, there is always the option of hitting replay and starting all over again until you find your perfect refuge.

Hold On | Short Film of the Day

‘Daud’ (Run), essentially a story of familial love, loss and the drama that ties it all together, presents an overlap of animation and live action to paint its reality for the viewer. A man, ever since he was a boy, used to run up a mountain every day with his father. However, one morning when the child did not accompany him, the father never returned from the run, thereby starting an endless pursuit for the protagonist to scale the mountain, and conquer not only the peak, much like his father had once dreamed, but also the fears he harbours within. The story is brought to life using a competent voiceover, which is seamlessly coupled with an equally skilled background score. There is never a drop in the energy, especially crucial to a film that preoccupies itself with running, and in the process, the narrative succeeds in keeping the viewer engaged throughout.

Daud | Short Film of the Day

The music video aspires to pack an entire punch within its short duration, complete with potent points about surveillance, the infestation of technology in our lives, resistance and the desire to question the status quo of those in power around us. Right at the very beginning, we see an image marked by protesters, something which has come to define the recent past in India. Be it the CAA protests or those against the Farm Bill, the animation and imagery that the video uses wants to jog our memory of these pivotal moments from last year. It ties them all together with complementary vocals and music to further communicate its intentions to the viewer in a direct, notable manner.

Why Did You Do It? | Short Film Nominee

The short narrative offers a smooth weaving together of images to present a sweet story about water and its life-giving abilities. As it moves from one container to another, suffusing each of them with life as long as it gets to stay within them, the lovely visuals continue to flow in swift successions. The concise development of events allows the final result to communicate its intentions by way of metaphors, leaving the viewer with a lucid message that underlines the importance of water for existence.

Cycle | Short Film Nominee

By using the example of two robots who become sentient beings and try to break out of their mechanical structure of cold, unthinking machines, the film perhaps endeavours a comment on the state of humanity. It shows two robots developing a unique bond of friendship, which then leads to the subsequent desire to break out of their confinement where they are only surrounded by mechanical, heartless steel. As they try to break out, their systems are rebooted leaking to a memory format and erasure. While they may rage and protest against it, is an escape truly possible for them? The film shows skill, patience and expertise on the animation front, but the visualisation has a deep echo of iconic visuals like those of Wall-E and would have benefited with a little freshness in that aspect.

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