This is a well-produced film with good performances by all the actors. However, the climax of Listener leaves the viewer a bit under-whelmed. This could perhaps be blamed on the format of a short film where the creator is confined by the duration. Yet there is a distinct need for the crescendo to rise in a different manner. The protagonist of the short film works at a restaurant where people pay him to listen to them talk. Listener, thus, also becomes a comment on the loneliness in society where despite friends, family and a job, people have to pay to get heard. Bottomline? It's a good film with a great concept, but there's an inexplainable sense of something being absent.

Listener | Short Film of the Day

Manorath, which translates to desire or heart's hope, is a lovely, quiet story about an overlap of urban and rural sensibilities, the fleeting moment when they seem to have reached a common plane and the swift shattering of this space. The storytelling adopted to communicate the thought is not one marked by garishness or loud devices. Instead, in the same vein as that of a soulful Rabindranath Tagore narrative, for it is indeed The Postmaster by him that serves as the inspiration for the short film, it conveys its intentions and motivations. When a photographer visits a village for a work project, he finds himself striking an unlikely friendship with a ten-year-old girl. The latter helps the former make some sense of a territory formerly unknown to him where the only pass-time available is to visit a nearby river. However, despite his sleek gadgets and experiences of a city-life, he is unable to grasp how little these things mean for a girl who only seeks friendship and affection, and not any material gains he might secure for her. The film is notably lucid in conveying the same, leaving no doubt in the viewer's mind about its core message, in the process, allowing itself to be a successful final result.

Manorath | Short Film of the Day

There is an innovative genre of films coming up at the festival circuit that seems to have taken a
different and quite interesting turn in India. These films are set in
unexplored spaces, use non-actors, delve deeply into a community’s day-to-day life and
struggles, and bind it all together as a mix of documentary
and fiction. 
Done right, this innovation can become a splendid amalgamation of the best of both worlds - the
richness of themes and motifs of a documentary, and the depth of a strong narrative
structure of fiction. Bitter Chestnut, however, unfortunately is not a good example of this genre.
Gurvinder Singh (of Chauthi Koot-fame) has taken a turn away from his usual style to make this film.
It starts off feeling deeply personal, and contemplative. A young boy Kishan who is seventeen is
adamant not to join his family profession and instead wants to continue working at a restaurant.
He lives in a village in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and the restaurant is in Bir, hours away.

<h2>The film contrasts modern with the traditional. A world where humans are one with nature and live in harmony with
it. The urban space, on the other hand, is shown to be possessing both virtues and vices. A subplot involving the restaurant owner who
willingly found refuge from the life of metropolitans in Bir presents a counter argument to
Kishan’s wish of leaving his village.</h2>

The core conflict is too thin and a little too overdone to work. Still, it is a premise that could
have turned out differently. The parts where the film digresses from the main plot are the best. The portrayal
of Kangra's culture, its poignantly portrayed people and customs stand out and stay with you.
The filmmaking is organic, and the vulnerabilities, idiosyncrasies and profoundly human
tendencies of the characters that bind them together become part of a universal and relatable experience, making
those parts worth watching.
 
Unfortunately, they are a bit too strong for the plot itself. The protagonist is shown to face no
conflict throughout the film. All his struggles are very internalised, and the filmmaking is detached
enough to never allow the audience to step into his shoes. <h2>Every time we see Kishan feeling
claustrophobic and stuck in his village, we see tone deaf images of lush heavenly mountains
where he lives. The story would like to introduce a conflict, but the camera does not believe
there is one.</h2>
The result is a protagonist who remains unnoticeable and unrelatable. Instead the subplot with
Monisha, the restaurant owner, serves more of a purpose and soul than the portrayal of the protagonist. She religiously
listens to the stories and discussions of the tourists who come to her restaurant. They range
from western spiritualists seeking enlightenment, hippie musicians to art aficionados looking simply to have a good time; she listens to them and learns from them. She has built a quaint little life for herself
in the mountains, and in her last days, only desires its peace. 
The same kind of insight is never given to Kishan. After a point, the debate between modern
and traditional ceases to offer anything interesting and becomes a burden to carry.
The title of the film is explained in a conversation that comes out of nowhere, with little
build up.
Bitter Chestnut is a competent study of a community, and human condition, but it falters as a
film.

 
Written by Nimish K Sharma

Bitter Chestnut | Review

The short film captures a moment often common to the lives of urban youth - the guest list preparation for a party. The entirety of the plot unfolds within the confines of a video call, while simultaneously giving us a glimpse into a recent experience of a similar gathering one of the two participants had attended. As the viewer is taken deeper into the evening, the film comes across as entertaining and amusing. It offers you a moment, but does not build on it. It would be a welcome prospect to see the young team take their endeavor further in the form of a longer project that involves us more in the lives of the characters and their social dynamics.

Party Residents | Short Film Nominee

The film is set in a scenic, peaceful farmland where Nita, after eight long years of a competitive life in corporate New York, returns to reunite with her family. As she drags her heavy suitcase through the muddy, narrow village tracks, Pappu, who is usually busy grabbing chickens and gossiping with his buffalo Dumri, recognizes Nita and holds her up for a chat. 

 Nita reluctantly listens as he explains minute details of the livestock and his immense love for the quiet, dim village, despite the mockery and injustice he receives for being simpleminded. This contrasts with the fast-paced, exciting city where seemingly never-ending skyscrapers and Nita’s glowing dreams reside. Sharing her pain and difficulties with someone who has a lighter and easier take on life provides the protagonist a new perspective. Perhaps her ‘crisis’ is not as massive it seems, the narrative suggests.

Crisis | Short Film Nominee

The film interweaves several visuals, minus any dialogue, of a city space to suggest a narrative whose form would be determined with what the viewer chooses to take from it. From different seasons to different times of the day, from splashes of rains to dry spells, the visuals, backed by music, capture it all. However, the distance it covers in the abstract space keeps it away from a cohesion it could have instead benefited from.

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