An unexpected text from a classmate reads, “See you on the other side”. It takes her three college friends living on separate continents on a wild guessing game. See You on the Other Side (2021), a nine-minute film on Disney+ Hotstar, reveals the sharp vicissitudes of life under a crushing pandemic. Directed by Roy Dipankar, the film shows how a global disaster tests friendships and stretches emotional bonds. It is representative of the spilling short format films on OTT platforms that thrive on sharp narratives.
And to encourage more content from the format, Netflix India has announced ‘Take Ten’, a short film workshop and competition for emerging filmmakers. Ten filmmakers from the country will be given an opportunity to attend workshops by the best in the industry and then make a short film with a grant of $10,000, which will be telecast on their YouTube channel.
The reasons for the popularity of short films are many. In the time of web series that stretch six seasons or more, films of two- to five-minute duration such as The Iceman and The Proposal (both 2021) are making a mark on streaming platforms.
While The Iceman is a three-minute comedy, directed by Indian-American filmmaker Heerak Shah, about racial stereotypes, The Proposal—also of the same duration—tells the story of an overzealous young Indian couple making separate plans to pop the question.
That the films put forward a compelling piece in the shortest of time is what draws the audience. “Short films are extraordinarily varied, coming as they do from a vast range of filmmaking and storytelling traditions,” says National Award-winning film critic Saibal Chatterjee. “They defy genre limitations and give filmmakers the freedom to explore unusual themes without having to worry about box-office returns.”
In an increasingly busy world where content is at your fingertips, short films work well. Their success lies in sharp storylines such as the 2020 film Sitara (Let the Girls Dream), a 15-minute animated production by Oscar-winning Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (on Netflix). Set in the 1970s, it is a heartrending portrait of child brides in the 21st century as seen through the eyes of Pari, a 14-year-old girl who wants to become a pilot.
Mainstream actors are also toying with the format. Tisca Chopra and Adil Hussain have lent their weight to two separate short films in recent years. Chhuri (2017), directed by Mansi Jain and starring Chopra and film-maker Anurag Kashyap, is about a homemaker who turns the tables on her cheating husband. Hussain acts as a parent in a dysfunctional family in the 2018 release Meal (MUBI), directed by Abhiroop Basu, a torrid tale of communal tensions.
Hussain, who seeks out short film scripts even while he is busy with international productions, believes this format is freer from the trappings of commerce. “It remains more layered, complex and nuanced. These are the aspects I care for and that is why I started acting in them in the first place,” Hussain says.
The new focus on short films comes at a time when the short format from Indian cinema has made a remarkable impact on the global stage. Last year, Film and Television Institute of India student Ashmita Guha Neogi won the Cannes festival Cinéfondation competition for film schools for her 21-minute diploma film, CatDog, the story of two children inhabiting a fanciful world of their making.
“Short films have the power to question, provoke, intrigue, excite and entertain all at once. It is easy, therefore, to see why the streaming services have embraced these films so enthusiastically, especially during the ongoing pandemic,” explains Chatterjee.
The power of the short format, often wrongly considered as the stepping stone for filmmakers, had celebrated Spanish director Pedro Almodovar make one lasting short last year. The Human Voice, which has a 30-minute solo act by British actor Tilda Swinton (available on BookMyShow stream), is about a woman waiting with two suitcases and a dog after being abandoned by her lover.
The popularity of short films is such that recognitions have started coming their way. Apresh Mishra, the Founder of The Hyphen, a youth-centric social enterprise, recently granted its inaugural CineImpact Fellowships worth `10 lakh to makers of 10 shorts. “The short format offers scope for meaningful messages to the masses. Like bringing a taboo subject to the living room for discussion,” says Mishra. At the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, London-based Sandhya Suri’s The Field, set in India, won the Best International Short Film award. Indian-American filmmaker Sushma Khadepaun’s 18-minute Gujarati-language film Anita explores gender bias and domestic abuse. It was one of the 12 short films in the Venice International Film Festival’s official selection in 2021.
“The short format gives you a lot of creative freedom, not just a means to get to the feature film,” says Khadepaun, who was influenced as a film student by Satyajit Ray’s 1964 short film Two.
For if it’s short, it’s gotta be sweet!