Short films – A Communication Revolution

In today’s rat race and high-paced lifestyle, people don’t like to waste their time. Studies have shown that people these days tend to watch a 3-hour movie in parts over days.

So, now Imagine a video, a short video, which can encapsulate emotions, tears, laughter, story, narrative, reason, an awakening message, and a conclusion all within the time span of 7mins to 40mins. Imagine with the attention span and dopamine tolerance of today’s generation how revolutionary that would be. Short films that exist today do exactly that. They give directors an opportunity to be brave for with big screens come financial limitations, and structural dependency governed by a myriad of factors. But short films on the other hand can be budget-friendly with ideas that are fearlessly broadcasted. Investors show more willingness towards investing in short films providing the filmmakers with the opportunity to experiment and add their own style.

With the name itself keeping the creator of such films focused on the main message, these movies present the audience with unaltered and uninterrupted storyline. There is a freedom of creativity, from lyrical short films to silent videos where creativity oozes in the use of light effects and frames, there are endless possibilities a short film director can tap into. Portraying infinite power in a limited time, short films reflect the truth of life to a viewer’s eyes.

From the first-ever short film by filmmaker Harilal Sen in 1898 to the present time where they have witnessed a transformation from film festivals to OTT platforms, social media, YouTube, and IGTV, thanks to the internet shrinking the world in many ways, short films have started gaining viewership.

Film festivals like The International Festival of International Culture and Tourism Film (IFFC), Pune International Film Festival (PIFF), Goa Short Film Festival (GSFF), Geo Filmfare Short Film Awards, and many other international festivals witness the proliferation of creativity as they work towards giving these short films international recognition.

There are presently 13 platforms in India that produce different short films -

ShortsTV, HamaraMovie, Terribly Tiny Tells, The Shortcuts by KARA Studio, Aabobo, Shorted, CineShorts India, White Wall Screenings, Pocket Films, Wishberry, Filamnt, Shamiyana – The Shorts Company, Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films (Mehrotra, 2019).

Thus, India is witnessing a growing interest in short films with all of these factors making this art form affordable and accessible. “Governments plans on promoting all kinds of good films including documentaries and short films.” Says the Information and broadcasting minister, Prakash Javadekar addressing a session at the Online International Coronavirus short film festival announced “governments plans on promoting all kinds of good films including documentaries and short films.” He adds “People have now become citizen journalists, where they shoot on mobile phones and even edit them and are ready with their short films. This is a communication revolution.”

Having the power, freedom, and sensitivity of conveying controversial and political ideas like sexual abuse, racial and religion-based discrimination, violence, physical and mental disabilities these films help present the viewers with an unfiltered and closer to reality idea of this world instilling sensitivity towards such topics.

Movies like Kinnar, a 6min 33 seconds ward winning movie which narrates the challenges and daily lifestyle of a transgender, or movie like Dooriyan a mere 14 mins movie directed by Pranav Gandhi, depicts how a woman battles patriarchal challenges when she is forced to abort her child because of her husband not being in the mood of taking up responsibilities or Kajal, a Filmfare nominated movie released in the year 2017 narrates the story of an office going girl battling the male-dominated world as she faces evils like eve-teasing and the male gaze. These films not only dabble in sensitive topics but many are also created for mere entertainment purposes ranging from genres like horror, tragedy, crime, murder to drama, romance, romcom.

Actors ranging from faces you would have never seen before to familiar big stars like Nasiruddin Shah, Radhika Apte, Tisha Chopra, Jackie Shroff, Darshan Jariawala, and many more have acted in short films, bringing with them their audience and helping spread the word.

The underdog of film industry, short films, have a lot of value to offer. Competing with feature films has been a long road but now the factors mentioned above are helping them gain the traction they rightfully deserve. After all, filmmaking is the chance of living many lifestyles, and in today’s world of escapism who wouldn’t want free access to such a variety of lifestyles.