One of the most important goals of art is to bring reformative change, to eventually make this world a better place. Its aim is to strive for an inclusive society where people of all genders and sexual orientations are allowed to live freely and without fear. The documentary film is an important step in the same direction. 

It offers not only a lucid and comprehensive, but also poignant and sincere account of a transgender boy's struggle to come to terms with his identity. Born as Ritika, but now having chosen an existence for himself as Ritwik, the protagonist shares with the viewer his mental health struggles, past failures in romance and society's inability to make him feel comfortable with his decisions even after all these years. What began as a sense of deep discomfort in his clothes and skin as a child, and briefly also came to be viewed as a mental illness by his parents, has now become a powerful assertion of an identity in a world that is obsessed with forcing everything into its own rigid categories. The overarching message of the narrative remains loud and clear - one about every person's right to subscribe to the gender they want to and are most comfortable with. In the process, doing its bit to further the cause, Tamas offers a beautiful and intelligent portrayal of an issue which requires more conversation and dialogue around it in the mainstream.

Tamas: From Ritika to Ritwik | Short Film of the Day

When it comes to storytelling, especially with the aid of a medium like a short film, it helps to focus on less than more. What it essentially means is that sometimes a sincere portrayal of a single moment, in the case of ‘Wing One's Way’ - a single conversation within the confines of the same room, is sufficient to make the story work.

The film achieves precisely this by taking us into a girl's dilemma who is mulling over coming out, and everything that would follow thereafter. There is something notably lovely and effortless about the two actors and their chemistry. This also marks the most pronounced aspect of the film - all the effort that has gone into making it look effortless and simple. The success of a story that is told devoid of any frills and bells, and with a consistent mellow approach to its many aspects, therefore becomes unmissable.

Wing One's Way...| Short Film of the Day

When a happily married man waits for his wife, lying beside him in bed, to fall asleep so that he can take his
phone to the bathroom, the viewer usually expects only one cause for the behaviour - the man is having
an affair with another woman. When a short film opens with a scene like that, it already launches itself
into an uphill battle as warding off such a deeply entrenched memory/bias of the viewer is a challenge itself. 
The only way, then, to triumph is to present the viewer with an equally powerful and opposing image,
and suspend the film in moot. Purple achieves that triumph, albeit within the restricted grammar of a
short film.

Purple | Short Film of the Day

'The Florist', presented without any dialogue, is a narrative that preoccupies itself with longing. The drama and action unfolding on screen bring to life a conversation on desire, and conformity, and the manner in which the two can often work in opposition in a world that only knows how to adhere to rigid and obsolete ideas of love. Two men, a painter, and a florist, share no more than the equation of a patron and a seller ostensibly, and yet, the quiet exchanges between them tell a different story. It is in the movement of the narrative from the former to the latter, until one is left behind, dropped for a soaring flight, allowing the other to be pronounced, that the plot is realized in an earnest, sincere manner.

The Florist | Short Film Nominee

The entirety of the plot is a conversation between two siblings, as they scream out each other's secrets to their mother from the terrace of their house. The film ropes in humour and the relatability of a sibling conflict to share its story. What starts off from a pregnancy test, concludes with a piece of cloth marked by its rainbow colours, and the statement they inherently carry within. As the shouting match continues, the secrets seem to be building up to something that would eventually come to alter the tone of the film in a permanent fashion. When it finally arrives, will the characters and the viewer be prepared for it? Secret endeavours to do its bit to normalise queer identities without giving in to sentimentalism or cliches. It weaves its story in a direct manner, along with skilled camerawork and an honesty to storytelling and performance.

Secret | Short Film of the Day

The entirety of the narrative unfolds in the form of a recitation of a letter that a father is writing to his daughter. Gradually and organically, taking its time to come into its own, this narration reveals small, but integral details to the viewer. From a task as mundane as making the morning tea, to a father's disappointment at finding his daughter's room empty, the film uses seemingly inane characteristics of every day life to weave a poignant story. As the letter develops, emotions of regret and guilt as a result of hasty decisions taken out of anger, surface and allow another layer and texture to the narrative. While being a story of societal pressures and shackles, of familial conflict and rebellion, the film concludes with a pertinent social message about acceptance and love, managing to involve and catch the audience by surprise in the process.

Roohi | Short Film of the Day

Pivoting itself on an artistic endeavor, the Aravani Art Project, that works with the transgender community in Bangalore, the documentary urges the audience to participate in a crucial conversation. The voices that are presented are undaunted, even in the face of all the struggles and obstacles that they have already overcome, and battle still on a daily basis. 
The narrative does a notable job of not venturing into the territory of maudlin sentimentalism. Instead, it presents stories of triumph and strength, all of it achieved in a nuanced, sensitive manner. It invokes childhood toys, tokens of beauty, the hair or smile of a subject on camera, to discuss all of this and some more. 

There is also the exploration of the relationship that is shared between Bangalore and the remarkable subjects of the story. Though the end result could have been defined by a tighter narrative, it presents a conversation that is compelling and crucial.

Kathegala Kanive - The Valley of Stories | Short Film Nominee

Based on a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky called ‘White Nights’, the film presents a narrative located in a corner of conservative, traditional India where there is very little room for nonconformity. Amidst it all is the romance of Kalp and Adi, two men who are tied in a relationship that cannot be shared with the world. 

The film is equipped with a softness, heartache, and the ensuing emotional range that depicts the struggles of its characters. It also exhibits a devotion to performances to bring the same to life. Its title translates to winged termite which conjures the metaphor at the heart of the plot, the existence of someone who is pushed to the margins, reducing their very identity to secrecy and rejection by society. As desire and love navigate social barriers, the story takes form, presenting its ideas and message to the viewer with lucidity and earnestness.

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