The fishermen community of Kerala has braved all kinds of storms, both literal and metaphorical. The documentary film is an attempt to introduce them to the viewer, while also allowing them a glimpse into the community itself. From their obstacles to their indomitable spirit, from daily business to what is their profit-share equation with their employers and partners, the narrative deals with it all. The strongest aspect of the film is its camerawork, followed by the manner in which it ties it narrative with Kerala floods, the Ockhi tsunami and the very ethos of the community itself. Further, the viewer is also allowed the opportunity to interact with fishermen and women from Kerala's Neendakara region, even if only by way of the screen. On the whole, the documentary proves to be a skilled piece exhibiting potential and notable insights into a specific group of people and their practices.

Adithattu | Short Film Nominee

A dead boy’s body is found on the shore by fishermen. They conjecture about what to do with it, but are reluctant to take responsibility. The same site transforms as a beach for people where they
come for recreation or leisure, like morning walks. The seaside also belongs to dogs who wander about.
The film observes the light and shadow of the place and life, each element indifferent to each other, going about its quiet existence, perhaps serving as a metaphor for life itself.

Kinaari | Short Film Nominee

The viewer would find it hard to be able to tell that the film was a documentary if it hadn’t already specified so.
This is because the narrative seems a lot more put together than documentation. The fishermen are casting
their nets, and performing the ritual they usually would to catch fish, but the visuals turns an activity, a
sight, so lively into something gloomy. The best part about watching the sun, about being close to an
ocean, are its colours, scents, and sounds. The violin score is surely great, but the documentary robs the
viewer of an experience of nature.

The Shore Benefactor | Short Film Nominee

Trigger warning: sexual assault 

The narrative of Boat No: 1093 attempts to invoke a space of darkness, both literally and metaphorically. The setting is of a boat at night where a group of men go about their usual business, until a very disturbing turn of events becomes their fate. The story then comes to be marked by violence and a far more terrible reality. Inspired by a true incident, the short narrative presents its engagement with shocking events. Additionally, there is the attempt to explore the manner in which they lead to a truly unexpected and horrifying end to the night that was introduced to us at the beginning of the story.

Boat No: 1093 | Short Film Nominee

The short narrative is marked by supernatural elements that completely change the course of a dawn for its characters. A group of fishermen discuss the financial travails that followed the Covid-19 lockdown, the festival of Holi and their faltering business amidst it all. At the same time, two of them choose to venture out and cast their nets in the darkness of the breaking dawn, to avoid the strict control of the authorities during the day as a result of the lockdown. However, as they step out in the hope of securing themselves some business, what sinister entities lurk in their path?

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