As the title suggests, the film is a single man's voice that adopts a poetic approach to share the intentions of the narrative. Endowed with a lyrical quality, it is essentially a philosophical musing about life and existence. Thematic concerns span past, present and future, and thus, the nature and flow of time. It damns humans to being shells of hollowness, but then double backs to ask a pertinent question - is it truly possible for shells to feel heartache? Is it possible for a hunter to show kindness? And most importantly, is it possible for a survivor to emerge a winner? All of these thoughts are further coupled with visuals exhibiting skill and smoothness, to complete the final product as a comprehensive, cohesive whole.

The Last Monologue | Short Film of the Day

The skill and smoothness of the visuals are the first thing that strike the viewer about Deliverance. After having established the horizon of expectation, the film ensures that it does not dip in its pace or technique as the story unfolds on screen. Two ascetics are performing the last rites of a person when an unexpected woman arrives at this quiet, remote corner of a forest. The brook flows swiftly, threatening to carry a less attentive passer-by with the strong current. Thus, one of the men carries her over his shoulders across the water body. The scene which had thus far been one of simplicity, devoid of any worldly indulgences, is suddenly marked by a potentially visceral sensuality, the all-male space disturbed by femininity. By its own admission, the film is based on a parable about the idea of deliverance or mukti, a sense of perhaps corporeal and, eventually, spiritual liberation that one achieves after a long observation of abstention. Within its folds is also a comment about the importance of controlling your thoughts which eventually become the root of all action, and how futile regulating the latter without the former can prove to be. The same intention is endeavored to be conveyed by employing a cohesive and engaging narrative.

Deliverance | Short Film of the Day

The short film is an intense philosophical engagement with several ideas that include, but are not confined to, love, relationships, the pursuit and attainment of truth and what it means to move from one stage to another, trying to make sense of all of them. The narrative further converses with rationality, eternal (love, for instance) and subjective (greed, jealousy, desire) truths, time and all of their linked thoughts and notions as the protagonist interacts with different characters. Sometimes they are reminiscent of perhaps a past lover or friend, sometimes a paternal figure. 

The subsequent result is not intended for light watching, but demands of the viewer their full attention, and presence of all mental faculties. The actors and their dedicated performance remains a notable aspect of the final result.

Tat Tvam Asi | Short Film Nominee

The title of the film establishes a binary that would come to define its core underpinnings. When a philosophy graduate finds himself unemployed, while his wife becomes the earning member of their household, he grapples with a sense of emasculation that threatens to acquire staggering proportions. The narrative does a notable job of portraying the oppressiveness of a relationship where your object of love also becomes the object of resentment. 

The film noir aesthetic further allows the visuals to aptly represent these grey territories one might find themselves confined to. 

 The single-room setting acquires a stage-like quality, allowing the drama to unfold in a controlled, but organic manner. Piles of philosophy books, their titles telling their own stories, lie mixed with images of women on cardboard boxes. Like relics of a life that once was - a wedding picture, a stuffed toy, little objects are strewn in the entire space to give the viewer a glimpse into a union that was once marked by love.

 

As much as the film is about a seemingly endless battle between a husband and wife, it is also about one between two genders at war with each other in a patriarchal set-up controlled by its rigid ideas of what defines male and female. Additionally, there is the attempt to bring to life a world of books which has deemed the man unfit for the practical world his wife exhibits. Consequently, any query that she may raise is answered in the words of a philosopher, politician or scientist. And lastly, the closing thought the film leaves you with is about the unbreakability of a toxic equation. This situation of extreme discord and violence is perhaps an oft-repeated one for the couple, and yet, they refuse to let go of their relationship. However, within the folds of this specific evening rests a possibility of hope for the characters, and maybe a sense of hope for the warring factions of gender as well as society.

Malefemale | Short Film Nominee

A man and a woman are located against a bright background, their shadowy silhouettes being the dark outlines that stand out in notable contrast. The figures remain solitary specks in their quiet surroundings as the narrative starts a conversation around life and dreams, hopes and existence, roping in nostalgia, childhood memories, philosophical musing and poetry. 

The camerawork and visuals further support the thought and intent of the film, also becoming its most standout characteristic. The elements are coupled with a background score consistent with all the aesthetic and thematic choices made so far, allowing the final result of 'Kinaara' to come together as a whole. 

The voice and tonality of the team exhibits promise, and should definitely be explored and developed further.

Kinaara | Short Film of the Day

The short film is a philosophical engagement with notions of existence, self and the endless pursuit of desires in life. It's marked by its layered narrative that falls within the boundary of the abstract, opening itself to different interpretations. The protagonist finds a small chest whose contents are undisclosed to the viewer. He immediately takes it home, hiding it in a dark, quiet corner of his house. It is the search, attainment and finally securing this object that comes to mark his entire existence. Sometimes it makes him jolt upright in the dead of the night, other days it's the reason for him to jump out of bed during the day. It torments and tortures him and he knows no rest until he has found the object in his possession again (to perhaps lose it all over again), even if it means shutting out the rest of the world. The film uses a narrative marked by an approach that withholds as much as it reveals, and yet ensures that its message is conveyed lucidly, thereby enabling it to succeed.

Iruttai Thediya Samayangal | Short Film of the Day

Sameer and Akash are talking late into the night about mundane things when the conversation takes an interesting turn. Akash leaves Sameer with a link to an AI software where interacting with the virtual assistant would reward you with a gift card. Hesitant at first, Akash soon begins a free-flowing conversation with the chatbot. As the exchange continues to grow in intensity, it leaves both the viewer and the protagonist deeply disconcerted. 
The screenplay, the majority of which unfolds by way of the virtual chat, minus any dialogue, is constructed with care and meticulous attention to thought. A sense of thrill and tension is suffused into the plot as it begins a philosophical engagement with the ideas of religion, existence, consciousness, and enlightenment, already echoed in the title. Even though there is a slight risk of losing some tautness within the narrative, the final unexpected twist at the climax pulls the film back into one cohesive whole. The notably executed solo project paves the path for a longer one with the same approach to storytelling in the future.

Bodhi | Short Film Nominee

Replacing all dialogue with written text, be it on the page or the screen, the film presents a philosophical rumination. The protagonist is in pursuit of finding the meaning of beginnings and ends. He seeks them within the covers of endless books in a library. The pursuit sends him down the road of reflection, as he recalls his own life, from one stage to another, from happiness to loss. 
As all of these different components are weaved together, the plot and story of the film come together as a cohesive, comprehensive whole. The search continues, albeit not without its culs-de-sac and long circuitous paths. At the end of it all, however, would the protagonist finally arrive to find what he is seeking?

Vettrukkagidham | Short Film Nominee

‘Roop’ operates within an otherworldly space of symbolism that indeed works in its favor. The intentions of the plot are allowed an expression that is completely in line with this approach and tonality. 

The narrative discusses form, both as a defining characteristic of an idea, belief or ideology, as well as the manner in which it molds, aids and forms the existence of those around it. From a belief in the divine and supernatural, to simply an object to be captured on a camera lens - a location becomes the center of it all. 

The interaction of the same spot with different characters is what forms the body of the film. Dividing itself into five parts, namely Bindu, Aura, Mann, Maya and Roop, the end result presents of these myriad interactions for us to converse with as well. While there is a little inconsistency in terms of the sound of the film, the overall storytelling exhibits potential and should definitely be engaged with more in future creative pursuits.

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