The film starts at a melancholic note that makes you wonder if this particular narrative will truly stand out, and then, before you realise it, it becomes much darker and deeper than you would have expected at first glance. It should be noted that the performance by young Ruchika Goel is notable in this aspect, as is the visualisation and execution of the plot by Arnav Sharma. The poetic, but disconcerting story comes across as a sincere and dedicated endeavour to talk about a concern gaining more and more relevance in contemporary times - one of child sexual abuse. Through the tragic tale of its protagonist, the film puts forth its engagement with the topic, while also drawing the viewer's attention to this very real issue that leaves countless children extremely vulnerable and exposed to abuse and assault.

The Pain of Freedom | Short Film of the Day

The opening visual is a minimalist shot of shadows and a single character - a dishevelled girl standing by herself in the darkness. As she begins to rage against an invisible character, the audience is compelled to sit up and pay attention. Soon she is joined by more characters, all distinctly singular and unique in their appearance and demeanour. However, there is still a common thread that ties them all together - the intensity of the emotions that they seem to exhibit and the darkness it all hints at. The narrative progresses further to reveal that all of them are simply the manifestation of the trauma of a sexual assault survivor, and her attempts to cope with her reality. Her struggle with multiple personality disorder offers a notable comment on not simply mental health, but also on what abuse and harassment can truly mean for someone who is at its receiving end.

Anubhooti  | Short Film Nominee

The short film opens on a harmless note that completely conceals the dark events that will come to unfold soon in the narrative. A young woman is alone at home and getting bored. She decides to order lunch and lets it slip by to the delivery executive that she is by herself. From what develops next, a relevant comment is offered on society, the judicial powers of the country and the stigma attached to survivors of sexual assault. This commentary succeeds a fairly violent scene, potentially triggering for some viewers, and one which would have perhaps benefited from a little nuance. Overall, the film is well-intentioned and exhibits an attempt at style that is further marked by a devotion to the story and its execution.

Let's Have Sex | Short Film Nominee

A woman recounts an incident of sexual violation that she had faced in childhood. She tells the camera
that this was the first time she was talking about it. It happened to her when she was ten years old, and
now she has a daughter who is older than that. If the film were a documentary, this would have been
called oral storytelling. But despite being a fictionalised account, the story feels real, her acting
convincing. This is because the tale that she narrates is all too common. Acts of violence against women
in public are visible, and therefore acknowledged, but what happens behind closed doors remains a
secret that most often women are burdened to carry all their lives. 
The woman tries to convince the listener that she is over her pain. It happened a long time ago, and
happiness has found its way into her heart. But unspoken, unshared trauma is like an unhealed wound,
it doesn’t go away by closing your eyes to it. It is the telling of the pain, and its acknowledgment that
begins the process of healing for the survivor, and the film delivers that point.

Hide & Seek | Short Film Nominee

The film makes a notable attempt of weaving a narrative of uncertainty. The doubts and confusion are further reinforced emphatically at the end. It opens with a shot of a young man, arriving at the doorstep late into the night, exhausted from running. When he finally manages to get his bearings, one of the first few things that he says is about having done a wrong, a significant detail that would come to dominate the entirety of the narrative. An echo of the same would be found in the conclusion of the story. As the film progresses, it takes the viewer into an unexpected and unknown place and finally consciously leaves them struggling with more questions than it answers.

Prashn | Short Film Nominee

The short film tries to be an engagement with the issue of women's safety. A woman finds herself stranded in a dark street with a phone drained of all battery. As her car breaks down and she tries to tackle a flat tyre, she finds herself face to face with three men. While they swing their bottle of alcohol in her face and behave inappropriately, there is an attempt to build a sense of tension. However, they soon leave her alone, and she is met with another person, who seems sober and less of an obvious threat. Essentially, the message the film is trying to convey is to avoid hasty judgments of character. However, it remains superficial in its exploration of gender dynamics. While the three boys may have not physically hurt her, they do manage to create a deeply uncomfortable situation for a woman in the middle of a dark street, which the narrative does not address. Additionally, the film would have benefited from portraying some amount of panic or distress in a woman who is physically assaulted by a man, even though the situation was saved from escalating into anything more disturbing.

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