WINNER, SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR

OFFICIAL SELECTION

SEMI-FINALIST

The biggest strength of 'Tower' lies in the approach and tonality it adopts to share the narrative. The narrative itself, it should be noted, offers an impactful conversation around a serious environmental concern, using a very unlikely circumstance - the love story of a cow herder in a corner of rural India. 


While we may have established the protagonist's location to be a 'rural corner', thanks to the rampant spread of technological advances, even this small village is seeing its fair share of change in the form of cellular services and their accompanying towers.  


Parshuram, or as he is better known in his village, Phalya,  spends the majority of his time either in the fields with his young friend, Jaygya (a naughty, Tinkerbell-esque presence), or navigating and admiring the beauty of birds in his vicinity. Every morning, as Phalya strolls through the expanse, a red bus stops to reveal to the audience his childhood crush, Manju, sitting by the window. Alongside Phalya and Manju's love story, another narrative is developing, one about the disappearance of birds from the former's village.  



After conversing for hours on phone calls, the two eventually decide to meet. Following the rendezvous and a conversation about Manju's academic matters, a startling and concerning revelation is made. As the protagonist chooses to to eradicate the root cause of the dwindling bird population, the constant push and pull between nature and technology is conjured for the viewer. In the process, the film raises a resounding question - have centuries of co-existence been disrupted beyond repair by the advent of modern technology and human activities? At the end of it all, the many elements of the plot are eventually tied together with a strangely heartwarming and uplifting message that ensures that the story concludes with a critical comment about the responsibility of each of us towards the world we live in, a statement that will stay with you long after you're done watching the film.

Tower | Short Film of the Year

Earlier this year, of the many internet gems that graced our virtual chats, there was a video of a middle-aged Indian man, a figure (soon to be fondly known as Dabbu uncle within the realm of the internet) we are all too-familiar-with dancing to the Bollywood song Aap Ke Aa Jane Se. Picking up from there, the eponymous short film weaves an endearing and heartwarming narrative about a man, Rammo Babu's life who finds himself at the centre of unexpected attention when a video of him dancing at a wedding goes viral. 
Unable to make much sense of this era of smartphones and WhatsApp forwards, Rammo Babu lives a simple life. He sells sarees with a single-minded devotion to his job, drops his children to school every morning and ensures he always turns up for his family, driving them around sandwiched on a two wheeler. Manu Rishi Chadha as Rammo Babu would completely win you over with the disarming vulnerability he brings to life in the film. The performance is tied with an organic and smooth progression of events within the plot, ensuring that it succeeds at striking all the right chords with the audience. 
Additionally, the film does a notable job of portraying the many nuances and subtle realities of a middle class household where it is only the simple joys that often suffice in making someone’s day. It is precisely in achieving this, among other things, that the film’s true success lies.

Aap Ke Aa Jane Se | Short Film of the Day

Chirag lives in a strange world with a stranger profession. His job involves delivering messages to people, on behalf of their family members and loved ones, sometimes in the respective patron’s voice, and sometimes even in person. The film offers a seamlessly remarkable endeavor in presenting this reality to the viewer. 

Amidst it all is Chirag’s relationship with Sneha, on the verge of collapse primarily as a result of his inability, ironically, to communicate or express himself. His dying relationship is simply symptomatic of society at large, one where the absolute breakdown of communication has left an endless vacuum very swiftly being filled by technology. In our own world where using AI tools to structure our messages and emails, sometimes even personal, intimate conversations, is ubiquitous and commonplace, is the film’s reality truly far-fetched? 

Chirag's mental and emotional unraveling is mapped alongside these developments, questions, and their inherent answers. A voice and tonality that is fresh and unique, coupled with strong performances, and a diegetic score together constitute the expert film.

Grey | Short Film of the Month

Against the hinterland of 2014 rural India, when it is still untouched by technology and the internet, and is instead marked by child marriages and walls covered with social messaging about covered toilets, the film allows its narrative to develop. One morning, three school boys (who choose to refer to their eleventh grade school as 'college', a notably authentic touch to the story), find a smartphone. As a scuffle ensues regarding the ownership of the phone, the desire for internet has also begun to stretch its limbs in their imagination. While the story is still establishing its premise, a new girl comes into the village and is soon the inhabitant of the only house with a wireless internet connection in the area. The film, marked by its lovely visuals and camerawork, allows the WiFi at her house to be the common pin that holds the entire plot together. It is also the pivot on which the film rotates, bringing in several emotions - of friendship, young love, loyalty, mischief and an eventual acceptance. It is fresh and contemporary of the right kind in its premise, sincere in its attempt to localise the story and successful in tying all of these elements together in an organic, cohesive narrative.

WiFi | Short Film of the Day

A man who runs a small flour mill finds himself at a strange crossroads when technology threatens to make him obsolete. As we follow the protagonist through his day, and customers come and go, it is a sack of mass-produced, machine-ground wheat that becomes the antagonist of the story. 

The film does an expert job of portraying this dynamic between a man who religiously follows his vocation and a swiftly changing world where people become increasingly impatient. The screenplay is constructed with attention to detail, mapping and sustaining the entire developing story with control. The narrative allows no dialogue to the protagonist, and yet, shares a skilled portrayal and communication of an entire array of emotions. 

The end result does not bog itself down with a technology-versus-tradition conflict, and instead only presents a moment with earnestness. The entire cast and crew exhibit seamlessness in bringing it to life, making the authenticity of the said moment its most notable triumph.

Chakkiwala  | Short Film of the Month

Media often offers a very tiresome portrayal of old people, reducing them to frail, feeble beings with little personality beyond that of chronic illnesses or existential despair. Consequently, when a film appears with a protagonist advanced in her age, but marked by the zest and verve that could be characteristic of anyone at any age, it is a fresh breath of air, to say the least. It is indeed heartwarming, and entertaining, to be introduced to a grandmother who decides to take matters in her own hands when her teenaged granddaughter seemingly avoids spending time with her. Our protagonist brings in the aid of technology to learn a thing or two about the smartphone era. While a regular internet user might be all too familiar with it, to the extent of having conditioned themselves into accepting it as the norm, experiencing it from the point of view of an outsider is truly the hilarious, eccentric and revelatory journey you would want to embark on. Additionally, when the granny has finally reached her intended destination, will she still have as much time as before to spend with her granddaughter? The narrative presents forth an answer in the most endearing manner.

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