Silly Sheep is a poignant engagement with the existential angst of a young boy tied to the desk of a seemingly mundane job. As he goes about his life, rehearsing and performing the same activities over and over again, the futility of this rut leaves him unable to attach any significance to life. Tied in an endless web of civil norms and social etiquettes, the protagonist, skilfully played by Arnav Bhasin, asks the jarring question, "Do I really exist?" There is much that goes on in the short duration of this film - from a dull job to a stolen car to a near death accident - yet the struggle to find any meaning in existence remains unchanged throughout. When you see someone you see every day, maybe in a lift, at a platform or outside a building, do you ignore them or do you lend any relevance to their existence and, in the process, to yours? This is the question this DLP production, written and directed by Pranav Bhasin, leaves you with.

Silly Sheep | Short Film of the Day

A hiking and camping enthusiast, known throughout the film as the Pilgrim, leaves his humble abode in the serene, milky depths of hills in search of the answer to an important question. In his journey to the Kumbh mela, he is joined by a chance companion he finds en route. 
As they converse, we learn about a life of alcoholism, the road to sobriety, trysts with meditation and the sum total of all of these events in the form of the protagonist's current existence. The ensuing unsaid understanding and companionship between the two promises a newer perspective of the world and acts as an unconscious guide in the protagonist's endeavor to achieve the answer he seeks. 

Despite the constantly changing physical backdrops, the final result of the short film essentially becomes a series of conversations - between two people, another with the character and the self, and lastly, one between the narrative and the viewer. 
There is the desire and attempt to engage with philosophical underpinnings, questions which are raised by the protagonist himself for the audience's benefit. There is sincerity as well in interacting with all of these concerns. The narrative comes across more as the first steps, albeit taken in the right direction, at the start of their journey in the current moment and in its present form. It is undoubtedly a welcome prospect to have further explorations of the thematic concerns dealt with in The Pilgrim in future projects by the team.

The Pilgrim | Short Film Nominee

Sravaka is an extremely successful dancer who is in want of nothing. Fame, success, and recognition lie at her feet, and yet, something disturbs her deeply. 

Unable to sleep or eat, she finds herself taking refuge in pills and constantly rushing back to her past. Her frequent visits to her guru ji, one whose existence is marked by poverty and isolation, push forth the narrative as it engages with philosophical questions regarding an artist’s relationship with their art, the fear of anonymity, the eternal quest for immortality, and what it means to achieve worldly success, even if at the cost of being dishonest as an artist. These ideas are portrayed with a close-knit union with dance sequences, crafted, choreographed, and performed most seamlessly and gracefully. 

There is further an earnest desire to explore the darker realm of success, especially for a dancer who is not only of a different nationality than her art form but has also seen turbulence in her former life. While a few raw edges appear in terms of the screenplay and the visual representation of some of the exchanges between the characters, the film’s core remains devoted throughout in its effort to seek meaning in existence and success vis-a-vis art.

Slow Rivers | Short Film Nominee

The protagonist of the film is plagued by an irrational fear of death. Johnson’s nights are defined by horrible dreams consuming them. His days are filled with what the doctors call death anxiety. Even in the face of the suggestions of his mothers, friends, and well-wishers, Johnson refuses to do that one thing that might help him get over his fear - spend a night sleeping in a coffin. One night, however, he finds himself locked up in a close space that is filled with…coffins! 

Will he finally succumb to the suggestion or will his fear best him? The short film paints an interesting world employing its storytelling and protagonist. It is marked by the ambiance of a dark comedy, as well as drama, with unexpected moments of tension and stress, keeping the viewer engaged throughout.

Maranathin Mookamam Thazhvarayil  | Short Film Nominee

The film’s title translates to serfs in ancient Sparta, immediately conjuring a life of exploitation and cruelty. By using it as a suggestion of the life the protagonist leads, the film presents a narrative that is deeply fraught with angst and existential questions. 

Though a little young in its tonality, the plot exhibits investment of thought, as well as the desire to experiment with its visual and emotional storytelling. The transitions and the edit show smoothness and aid the film successfully. All of this is thus employed to portray Lobo's reality as it attains nightmarish proportions, constituted by horrors that remain rooted in the mundaneness and repetitiveness of his lived reality.

Helot | Short Film Nominee

The film is a man’s internal monologue shown through the sights and scenes he observes every day. It is
a conversation with his alter ego, as he moves from one thought to another, looking for a purpose in life. He is grappling
with his past, the present, the future and the person he
wants to be. The film attempts to employ a choreographed sequence marked by its shadows to invoke the visual of the internal conflicts one might be struggling with, along with supplementing the entirety of the narrative with a voiceover. Consequently, the question, "Who am I?", takes existential, philosophical and experiential forms in this short.

Who Am I | Short Film Nominee

The film is a man’s quest to find answers to the question - who is the real me? Through an internal
monologue, he searches for his identity: is it the one he fashioned himself, or the one moulded and formed by
society? He wanders through the lanes of memory, nostalgia and past looking for clues, instances,
pointers. Ultimately, settling with the acceptance that there is no such thing as an absolute way to be. In the process, the film thus becomes an engagement with the inner confusions and questions of a person, that eventually find some sort of a closure or an answer, allowing the narrative to achieve completion.

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