Some of the most beautiful stories are the saddest and the short film goes ahead to prove that. School Bag, as the name suggests, revolves around one inane object that a seven-year-old child dearly desires as a birthday gift. Of course his loving mother would try to ensure that he is the happiest boy on his birthday. However, at the heart of this unadulterated happiness, lies a deeply moving tragedy. Based on true events, the Peshawar school massacre that took place on 16th December 2014, the short film touches the right chord with the viewer without even remotely falling prey to sentimentalism. One of the major reasons for this is the effortlessly convincing performance by Rasika Dugal as a young mother, busying herself for her son's birthday preparations. The film also portrays that the victims of mindless violence and terrorism are not simply confined to a community, nationality or age group, and that pain cuts the same gash universally.

The School Bag | Short Film of the Day

While it is easy to paint an entire community with a single stroke of the brush, Muslims in this particular case, and further enable the narrative around Islamophobia, the nuances and the several intricacies that truly constitute the truth are far from being as simple as this. Introducing the viewer to the same thought is Fatimaah which opens with the anguish of a woman desperately seeking someone during a hot summer day. Her arrival at the pursued destination reveals that her son is being held captive by a fringe outfit. She has come to talk with them about her son's release after his failed attempt to execute one of their attacks. It is in this development of events that lies a comment on the origins of radical elements and also the suffering it causes to everyone irrespective of their religious identity. To the viewer's surprise, despite the anger and aggression of the scene and of other members of the group, their leader welcomes her with kindness and hospitality. However, a sense of unease put in place by the narrative so far, never truly leaves the scene. Events gradually unfold at an organic pace to reveal a reality far disturbing than what the mother or the audience could have foreseen.

Fatimaah | Short Film of the Day

By giving a confused terrorist as its protagonist, Faqr Hai talks about India as a nation to be loved, despite all its weakness and disadvantages. A terrorist, who is supposed to carry out an attack on the country, is left alone to research and educate himself about its history. Little does he know that an interesting development awaits him on the other side. Anil Mange, the comedic, clueless terrorist finally manages to reach a decision about his opinion on India. However, will it alter the course of the attack? The film does give in to sentimentalism towards the end, as is not uncommon of several films on the topic, but remains a light-hearted, well-intentioned product to be watched when the immediate reality of the nation disillusions you.

Faqr Hai | Short Film of the Day

If a filmmaker manages to tap in the subtleties of storytelling, more than half the battle is won. This short film is a similar victory which straddles two narratives. A cameraperson loses his equipment during a scuffle. When he manages to procure a second hand camera, the memory card that comes with it has a disturbing story to share - one of another young cameraperson who was subjected to extreme violence and cruelty at the hands of a policeman. The two narratives conflate to convey a powerful message about the state of the average people in a country where the powerful brazenly exploit their position. However, having said that, the film is not devoid of its flaws. While the story is a strong one, there are weaknesses in the manner in which it is executed. The film exhibits potential of being a brilliant work of art, but misses the mark by a significant distance.

Alaksha | Short Film of the Day

‘Rudra’ offers a notable comment on the very specific kind of anger that fuels the fire of revenge. It places a cycle of violence in motion from where there is no breaking out, unless the path of forgiveness and kindness is remembered in time. 
The visual narrative remains confined primarily to a single room where a man is busy at work at a make-shift desk. Surrounded by newspaper clippings and documents that hark back to both his present motivations as well as past tragedies, the film presents its world to you. There is a judicious use of space and limited resources to bring the story to life, conveying its message to the viewer in a lucid manner.

Rudra | Short Film Nominee

The Shriek of Silence is an effort in bringing to life various issues and emotions by portraying for us the character of a young man who has been recruited by a militant outfit to carry out their violent schemes. 
 In the process, the story presents to the viewer frustrations, misguided anger and the manner in which poverty is exploited by kingpins and leaders who are motivated by their own vested interests. With little regard for the effects they have on a community or on what the youths who carry their bidding leave behind, they continue to simply lure people in with the promise of money, one that is desperately needed by the said youth. 
 The narrative endeavors to rope in all of these concerns while also revealing the brutality and the destructive nature of the paths taken by these men, without humanizing or justifying them or their actions. It could have indeed gained from a better control on its sound, but, having said that, the final result leaves the door open for more such explorations by the young team.

The Shriek of Silence | Short Film Nominee

April Fool begins with a man getting shot. From the first scene itself, the film establishes what it
sets out to promise in the title – it’s about no funny business. 
It starts from peak suspense, and continues to build the severity of the drama with each passing
question bringing in a new piece of information to ultimately crack the case: like solving a jigsaw puzzle. 
You can tell that the actors are committed to their roles, especially the cop who interrogates. The
camera moves across their close ups, trying to catch every twitch, every wrinkle. The film is shot in low-
lighting, in a quintessential police-suspect interrogation set-up, to create a tensed atmosphere. The
background sounds supplement the suspense that the narrative intends to build. 
The film doesn’t really push the envelope, in terms of stylistics, but nevertheless keeps you clued in.

April Fool - It's Not Funny| Short Film Nominee

A group of young boys is sitting around a fire and listening to old Hindi songs on the radio. Suddenly the
quiet of the moment is disrupted by gunshots. When the men who fired the shots are revealed to be
in a military uniform, it becomes clear that the setting is the violence-torn Kashmir valley. The commentary
that follows the bloodshed on screen is poetic. It seems like the voice of an omniscient narrator who is
overlooking the clash, confusion, chaos, as someone both involved and removed from the
scene. His words are meant to offer the contrasting voice of reason, sanity, peace and patience.
However, the film only brushes
through the surface of the conflicting tale it hopes to tell.

Dastak | Short Film Nominee

The short video engages with a deeply sad and poignant subject. Faraaz Hossain, a twenty-year-old boy, put his life at stake to save two of his friends during the Dhaka attacks by ISIS militants in 2016. The narrative documents his sacrifice and discusses its significance in a world which seems ravaged from more divisions in the years that followed. The narrative is sincere, honest, well-intentioned, and strives to bring to life a story more relevant than ever before in contemporary times.

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