The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on society in several ways, be it financial, or in terms of health. It has completely shattered our notions of normalcy or what was once considered normative in terms of how we interacted with our professional and personal life. This has been caused by the complete blurring of the lines between the home and the world, and the documentary film is an engagement with the same thought. 

As the name suggests, it takes the viewer into the work-from-home lifestyle of a teacher, and delves into the several aspects of this change that the pandemic forced on her. While juggling household chores and her duties towards her students becomes a daily reality, the narrative invoked to communicate all of this remains controlled and quiet. It does not take shelter in any ornate devices or ostentation, or even spiral away its energy in a feverish fervour. This, in turn, becomes a decision that allows it to succeed at sharing not a story of grandeur and loftiness, but one marked by the mundane and everyday chores. 

Within its folds also lies a comment about the location of women in society where they straddle domesticity as well as the professional space in a manner that is not expected of men. In the process, the film offers an endearing, honest and sincere story, enabled and enhanced specifically by its tone and approach of subtlety and calmness.

Portrait of a Teacher  | Short Film of the Day

‘Together’ is a quiet story which is nevertheless marked by a powerful and empathic voice. Munmun, a single parent and thus, the sole earner of her family, is a domestic help who is out of work because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Without making it explicit, the film presents the dire financial straits of the protagonist who has not made rent in two months. 

Consequently, one day when an opportunity knocks on the door, living for a week at the house of an unwell couple, she is quick to take it, leaving her two young children by themselves at home. The lady of the house, taking care of her Covid-stricken husband, is cold and unkind in her approach to the hardworking Munmun. 

Along with the many difficulties which the pandemic presented to people across the spectrum, both the privileged and otherwise, the film also offers a trajectory of kindness, from standoffishness to concern to an eventual softening of the heart. However, the question intrinsic to the narrative remains that when this kindness finally arrives, would it be enough, and would it be in time?

Together | Short Film of the Month

The short film is beautiful in terms of the pacing, the tone and the narrative it weaves using its visuals. Marked by seamlessness and sophistication, the poetry takes the viewer into a world of shadows which conceal some magical beings and all that they carry within themselves. The writing is notable and employs words smartly and poignantly to convey its intentions. The film is specifically relevant in contemporary times for it carries an important social message, urging the viewer to not forget to light up the lives of those we may have, knowingly or unknowingly, forced into oblivion and forgetfulness, especially during the pandemic. The communication is lucid, coherent, skilled, and manages to convey it all in a moving manner.

The Invisible Humans  | Short Film of the Month

The wait is the hardest for those who are left behind, and the narrative of the film indeed portrays the same in a poignant, beautiful manner. The entirety of it is in the form of an affectionate letter that a mother is writing to her child. It is only over a period of time that the contents reveal the true intent of the writer, as well as the circumstances of the person being addressed in it. The strongest aspect of the film is the soulful, seamless narration, with a close second in its cinematography, which serves as the viewer's sole relationship with the protagonist and her struggles. It is through these words that we are allowed to share and participate in her emotions, even if fleetingly, as well as the physical and emotional isolation she experiences in her son's absence. The plot also carries within it an important social message, reminding the viewer of their duty towards society, as a handful of us continue to wage a battle on the front lines of a pandemic that has the world tightly in its clutches.

Manan | Short Film of the Day

There are very few films in the independent space which have perfected the craft of the short film, and this one
is certainly one of those. It is based in a realistic film mode and yet, is wholly complete in itself, unlike projects that seem like part of a longer product. Everything one expects from a feature, is achieved by it. 
Kaanapedatha Malakhamar is a story of a father and his daughter, navigating their way during a pandemic. With each small interval,
the film brings the viewer new information which completes the picture, the larger vision. The art
direction is fantastic, the actors are most competent, the screenplay and cinematography are as good as
married to each other. With a form so evolved, the film still packs punches as larger social comments.
Highly impressive work.

Kaanapedatha Malakhamar | Short Film of the Day

The film locates itself in a pandemic-stricken world where a woman struggles to ensure her daughter does not miss her online classes. A smartphone is absolutely imperative for these classes, but Shalini’s young daughter, Aami accidentally broke theirs. 

Now Shalini struggles between jobs, even at the cost of her own well-being, to ensure that she somehow puts enough money together for a new phone. In the process, not only does the narrative draw a very clear boundary between the haves and the have-nots, but it does so without letting itself get consumed by sentimentalism. Inherent to the narrative is also the idea of the many sadnesses that many of us carry within. 

If for someone it is the struggle to make ends meet, for another it is being stuck in an oppressive job where you can only nod and suffer in silence at the hands of a cruel boss, and for yet another, it is the longing and memory of a lost loved one. Aami, the little daughter, too notices the sacrifices her mother makes while putting on a brave face all along, and it is primarily this courage and perseverance of character that the film preoccupies itself with, in a sincere, devoted manner.

Shalini | Short Film Nominee

Inspired by Premchand’s namesake story, ‘Kafan’ locates itself far from the twentieth century, and in the contemporary coronavirus-ridden world instead. The story opens at a moment of tension, presenting to us a very unwell woman in Budhiya, as well as the plight of her worried, frantic husband, Madhav. 

As a frenzied quest begins to secure urgent medical aid for Budhiya, the film offers comments on privilege, the access the affluent enjoy in hospitals during a crisis, and at the end of it all, on death, the great leveler. At the same time, there is also a reminder that while death and the pandemic might be indiscriminate in who they choose to claim as their own, the poor and the underprivileged still have immense obstacles to overcome at every step, including death. 

The final product of 'Kafan' boasts notable performances, especially that of the protagonist in Madhav, and in a brief glimpse of an unnamed character. This is further coupled with subtlety and uniqueness of voice in the reality and commentary that it brings to life.

Kafan | Short Film Nominee

During the coronavirus lockdown, we have all had at least that one friend who somehow found it possible to turn themselves into productivity machines. Things would have been perfectly alright up until this point if only they had not chosen to share their enthusiasm with the rest of the world as well by means of a social media onslaught. Then came the culinary experts who swore to flood our lives with every little attempt of chopping an onion. And yet, one could have contended themselves in the name of the various emotional pressures that our 'new normal', as the internet loved to call it, put so many of us under, leaving everyone with whatever coping mechanisms they could grasp at. However, just when you thought it's all over, we had our former lovers' Instagram feed to endlessly scroll through. The short film is a weaving together of all of these characters and the resultant emotions and situations (and more) in a lighthearted, humorous manner. While it makes you laugh, it further goes the extra step of using fast-paced, smooth visuals to portray it all. Stylistically, the film earns extra points for its energetic and skilled camerawork and edit, at the same time engaging with concerns of mental health and the manner in which it has come to be tied with our quarantined and confined reality all along.

Backseat | Short Film of the Day

The protagonist of the film, Rajat, is dealing with a traumatic emotional upheaval, the loss of his wife, Pritha, to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is coupled with the isolation of a locked down world which has further left him struggling to come to terms with the pain and grief. 
With only a sincere, close friend by his side, Rajat is gradually succumbing to his reality. The narrative explores all of these emotions, engaging with the different stages of grief. There is the attempt to talk about serious mental health concerns, and the adverse ways in which the pandemic worsened them. However, as for the protagonist, while things may seem extremely bleak on the horizon, could Rajat find it in him to accept the circumstance, and eventually, the strength to move on?

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