There are no rules in experimental cinema other than that the existent ones must be broken or
ignored. Abstraction is hard precisely because there are no guidelines to help one out, and
often abstract films are like a drowning man clutching at straws. 

<h2>That Cloud Never Left, however, is abstract filmmaking done right. It is subjective enough to
allow many interpretations, eerily beautiful enough to catch your eye and
structured enough to never wander away from the things it wants to talk about. </h2>

Set in the village of Daspara (200 kms from Kolkata) where people make toys to sell in
bigger cities for a living, the film follows the day-to-day lives of the people and their innovative
toys. They diligently make merry-go-rounds, rattles and flutes with their hands. The toys are cut out of bamboo, straw and old 35mm film reels, after which they are hand-painted. The old reels of
Bollywood films are the soul of this surreal film. 

The film is happy to give what little story it has through title cards, reminiscent of the silent era.
The rest, emotions, pathos and relevant themes, are conveyed through images, an innovatively
crafted background score and cryptic dialogue sprinkled with control for garnish in this
masterful recipe. 

It starts with a heap of toys being sold on city streets. Cut to a floating
shot from a clear sky above a boat, facing the sun directly, coloured blood red. Slowly, the
camera pans away from the surreality, and the scene slowly shifts to reveal
Daspara. From then on, visuals gaze into the elements that make these toys - bamboo
reeds, straws, ropes and, of course, film reels. 

<h2>The hypnotising monotony of the work is the norm. This
monotonous work makes steady tunes that the sound designer Bigyna Dahal has turned into a
brilliant score that works just as well in the film as it does as a standalone piece. It is soothing,
euphoric and has a sensibility that ornaments the film. </h2>

Film reel dominates the motifs of the film, and also the life in the village. Often dreamlike images that are full of neon colours fill the screen, as if from the chemicals reacting within the reel itself. The existing frames captured in them mingle with the jumble of colours. Like a radio
finding frequencies, the reels go back to the station too. Images are projected on
closed shop doors. People often watch these films on TV after cutting reels all day, as they
listen to old songs. It is as if the films remain as happily effervescent ghosts in the village, their
stories mixed in the soil, their soul found in the water of the place. 

One character enigmatically says ‘our stories are forever. We will never run out of stories’.
Perhaps it is an artist’s testament to art’s invincibility. It might also be about art breeding art, a
cycle as potent as the cycle of life itself. 

The film is set against the backdrop of an imminent lunar eclipse. The children in the village look for
rubies. Two men ambitiously build a skyscraper like a toy out of their traditional elements in the pursuit of things like a mobile network and a better view of the eclipse. All of them look for purpose, while never
quite being able to distance themselves from what they do. 

The day of the eclipse arrives, clouds appear. The children search for rubies, the men sit
atop their ambitious toy. The film crew religiously shoots. Amidst all of this, art, the omnipresent entity, continues its silent, most natural existence.

 
Written by Nimish K Sharma

That Cloud Never Left | Review

‘Shoebox’ brings to life a world that is chaotic, cruel, unforgiving, but above all, intensely personal and intimate. This intimacy is precisely the reason why it draws the viewer deeper and deeper, ensuring that it stays with them long after they are done watching the film. 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/8bAi2Z6l.jpg" /> 

Mampu (Amrita Bagchi), a research scholar in Pune, returns to her native Allahabad due to a health emergency in the family. Her father, Madhav Chatterjee (Purnendu Bhattacharya), is a rigid man of strong beliefs, refusing to forgo smoking even in the face of dire health demands, or his theater, a relic of the past long gone and forgotten in an age of multiplexes. 

<h2>Commenting on this sense of the personal, and how it gets tied with cinema, director and co-writer, Faraz Ali says, “As I moved cities and traveled far from home and then returned to it time and again, I saw unbridled change that was slowly going out of control. Of course, this is inevitable, but for each person it’s an intimate loss. 

This very intimate, macro experience of a larger process of loss and displacement is what I wanted to capture in my first feature film. Because let’s face it, the only thing closest to actually living in those now-erased spaces, is recreating that world (and its sense of comfort) through cinema, which is such a wonderful tool to re-enter past worlds.”</h2> 

In the process of this exploration, the film does a especially notable job to not simply conjure the father-daughter equation, but also the many forces that tug and pull at it, that shape and mold it into a dynamic that is defined by care and affection, and the desire to look out for each other, as much as it is marked by past resentments, impatience, and ensuing baggage of emotions that have been left to fester for too long. 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/pFc6BCLl.jpg" /> 



‘Shoebox’ presents to us a world which is very distinctly its own, a metaphorical box whose walls are made of past, memories, friendship, loyalty, resentment, parental figures and their harshness, and yet, a common thread of intimacies and vulnerabilities that tie them all together. However, while Madhav may have refused to move on from the only time in his life when he truly felt happy, this world continues to march to its own beat against a backdrop of political power tussles, urbanization and modern day progress that might sometimes come at the cost of jeopardizing a city’s cultural ethos. 


A space of WWF cards, strong filial and familial bonds, the urge to protect a younger family member in a way Mampu couldn’t be protected, and letting go of the grief of one family member to make space for the peace of another is constructed with the plot's progression. And yet, the various elements, constantly at war with another, are sometimes deliberately kept indifferent to the individual troubles of the protagonist, drowning her in their cacophony, ensuring that she finds herself at a moral crossroads, unable to distinguish between what is right and worth fighting for, while also safeguarding herself and those around her. 

Spectacularly complementing the various emotional intricacies of the plot are the sophisticated visuals of Mahesh Aney. The resultant frames enrich the film most beautifully, ensuring that it’s precisely their presence which add a nuanced, deeply crucial layer of authenticity to the narrative.

<h2>There is much to be said about the atmosphere created as part of the experience of watching the film. And indeed, it was a result of conscious, meticulous effort by Ali who adds, "I only aimed to go beyond verbal emotions and work toward an atmospheric film. 

The primary ingredient for this was the sound design. The film was set in the North Indian winter when air density increases, and since Allahabad doesn’t have many skyscrapers or tall buildings, faraway sounds are not blocked, making a peculiar acoustics of the city. Ambient sounds are amplified and they reach our homes. Trains pass in the distance and railway announcements are made. New names are heard. The sound of a city becomes the sound of our homes. And thus with time, the sounds of a changing city also become the sounds of our changing homes." </h2> 

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/SYsbWmrl.jpg" /> 

As the emotional and personal develop alongside the external, practical world, ‘Shoebox’ remains an sincere, devoted and wonderful endeavor of storytelling that especially stands out for its honesty and authenticity. There are very few rough edges (for instance Mampu’s sudden and effusive expression against sending her young cousin to a boarding school) that might come across as inorganic, but on the whole, it is easy to overlook them, simply in the name of the quiet, calm world the film evokes for you. Both Ali and co-writer Noopur Sinha are refreshing, skilled voices to look forward to. 
 

Written by Rosheena Zehra

Shoebox | Faraz Ali, Noopur Sinha

Made as a celebration of the 100 years of Indian cinema in 2017, the ad film is a brief, but lasting romance with the city of Mumbai. Explored through the eyes of a taxi driver, the film packs a full punch in its short duration and a notable use of handheld shots. As our protagonist regales us with his story, we find out he came to Mumbai from Allahabad and is a fan of Amitabh Bachchan. Iconic dialogues from memorable Bollywood films smoothly jump out of his mouth, reminding the viewer, that amidst the hustle and the rush indeed lies the city of dreams, harbouring the hopes and efforts of the countless, often drawn to it by the glamour of tinsel town.

The Taxi Story | Short Film of the Day

Chintu Sharma is a relentless film aficionado. As soon as school is over, he darts out to catch the latest film at the local theater. However, 'Phillum' does not immediately introduce us to its protagonist and this reality. 

Instead, first there is the establishment of a small school, perhaps even suggesting a movement back in time. The film presents a sincere endeavor in capturing the ethos of not only a village, but also of an endearing, enthusiastic young protagonist. 

As for Chintu, he is not only a viewer, but also a storyteller, even performer, as he regales his peers with stories of the films he has watched. The end result ties all of these elements together to leave the viewer with a narrative that aims to be wholesome and uplifting.

Phillum | Short Film Nominee

At the film's core is a simple premise - the ambition and dreams of glory of a young filmmaker which is tied with extremist elements within the story. However, the manner which is adopted to portray the same is far from simple - it shows the desire to innovate, to experiment, and not be hesitant of stepping out of one's comfort zone.

 In the process, a meta-narrative of sorts is produced which offers political commentary, a plot which is very self-aware and therefore sometimes invokes humor at its own expense and very deliberately so, mixes elements of surrealism with humor and violence, and ties it all together as the completed product of the film. 

 The non-linear narrative takes us into Alka's world and her very devoted attempts to tell a "politically visceral" story. With a hat-tip to Roland Barthes in its title, the film brings all of this, and some more, to life, ensuring that its storytelling and the execution of the plot remain fresh in tonality while, at the same time, engaging and entertaining the viewer throughout.

Ek Film Director Ki Maut | Short Film Nominee

The story is of an intense conversation between a struggling actor, portrayed convincingly, and an unnamed character. Throughout the film, a sense of suspense is invoked regarding the identity of this faceless speaker who riles up the protagonist and drives him to despair and hopelessness. In a lot of ways, the narrative is about overcoming your demons, irrespective of the obstacles that mar a person's path to their dreams. The whole drama unfolds within the confines of the same room and shows potential in terms of the camerawork that can be developed further in the future projects of the team.

The Voices | Short Film Nominee

A film is like giving birth, suggests ‘Cinemaa’. The process of uniting a writer’s thoughts with the director’s vision, the execution of an idea that leads to the end result of a film, is positioned in parallel with bringing a life into this world, and the film in question commits to this metaphor with full devotion. The idea is pronounced in the title itself with a play on the word maa (mother). The plot is located in a different time and reality altogether to delineate the premise. 

The experimental approach is entertaining, and allows the film an edge of uniqueness. Consequently, the end result is bizarre in the most involving and fun ways. The narrative’s dedication to creating its world is also notable, at the end of it all, leaving the viewer with a composite and comprehensive whole.

Cinemaa | Short Film Nominee

Much like the cult favourite film Andaz Apna Apna, Apna Apna Andaz's narrative too comes to be marked by slapstick comedy and a significant presence of the buddy film genre as two characters find themselves in a misadventure involving their love for cinema, indifferent police officers, concerned hospital staff and confusion that threatens to engulf the entire situation. The story of the film is of one night - the night of the release of the aforementioned iconic film, while two passionate fans are determined to catch it come hell or water. The situation that ensues after their tickets are lost to pickpockets forms the main body of the plot. Despite a few anachronistic slips, the film manages to tell a complete story, marked by moments of humour, while also overcoming the limitation of its resources with the enthusiasm of its young team. The consequent energy and verve that thus constitutes the final product leaves the door open for more storytelling by them.

Apna Apna Andaz | Short Film Nominee

The short film is an interesting exploration of a young boy’s psyche who finds himself turning to Bollywood to make sense of his life. It opens with a visual that involves the viewer instantly only to surprise them with an unexpected turn. The plot further develops to reveal the boy’s deep admiration for cinema. Against the backdrop of a dysfunctional family afflicted by domestic quarrels between his parents, he finds himself turning to cinema to look for comfort and solace. However, no matter how far we allow denial and escapism to carry us, there are some aspects of reality that cannot be avoided. Sometimes the darkness goes much further than we allow ourselves to acknowledge. It is the same theme that the film engages with, as it strives to present the various aspects of a boy’s relationship with his reality, his admiration for films and the consequences of his deep involvement in these equations.

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