Every Cinephile can agree with me when I say that we have a soft spot for short films and documentaries. Packed with raw emotions and the power to grip our attention until the very end, short films are usually overlooked and not given enough credit by the masses.
Here is a list of some of the best short films directed by womxn directors that will keep you hooked and make you fall in love with their action-packed world!
Céline Sciamma’s Pauline (2010)
Part of the 2009 Anti-Homophobic campaign by the government, “Pauline” is a coming of age short film where we hear a 7-minute-long monologue of Pauline talking about her sexuality and how people around her reacted to it. Directed by French director Céline Sciamma, the simple monologue keeps us emotionally attached to our protagonist. The entire film feels like Pauline is talking to us as she lays there on her bed, with the only movement being that of her nervous hands on her chest.
It has one of the most unexpected endings which leaves you satisfied yet not enough to forget about how the homophobia is illuminated in small towns; how lonely and disassociated one feels. It is extremely captivating and relevant in today’s age too.
Streaming on YouTube.
Blair Walters’ Princess Rita (2019)
Winner of the ‘Festival Jury Award’ at the 2019 Nitehawk Film Festival, Blair Walters’ “Princess Rita” follows an old insurance adjuster who falls in love online and is trying to make her leave her ‘kingdom’ to live with him. The soft muted colors in the film are aesthetically pleasing, highlighting the happiness Alan (Fedor Steer) feels in this love story. At least it’s a love story in his mind.
There are moments where the Fourth wall is being broken but with a weird twist, it almost makes you feel like you are the Princess Rita that Alan is talking to in his messages. Alan is just a man trying to escape from the mundane life, caught up in this fantasy world of scam, completely ignoring the advice coming from his close ones. In two words this film can be described as perfectly tragic.
Streaming on YouTube.
Heena Dsouza’s Pressure Cooker (2017)
From the first shot of the wife staring out of the ‘caged’ window, we see the references to the repressed emotions of this Indian housewife. The 16-minute short film by Heena Dsouza focuses on the small issues that a housewife faces, with a focus on the metaphor of the pressure cooker and how the husband doesn’t want to buy a new one.
Throughout the film, there are ample references to how our protagonist has unsatisfied, repressed romantic feelings that are threatening to explode like a pressure cooker. The life story is of a regular household seen from the eyes of the woman who has to handle everything in her house and simultaneously subdue the wild thoughts and dreams depicted beautifully in this short film.
Streaming on YouTube.
Heena Dsouza’s Faded (2019)
Staying put with Heena Dsouza, we see a different take on relationships in her 2019 short film “Faded.” This Short Film is something most of us millennials can probably connect to a lot more as compared to the film suggested above.
We follow Megha and Sid’s relationship from two different periods, the blooming beginning and the deteriorating end. This film will leave you confused with your feelings. It fills you with sadness and anger as we make our way backward and see how the relationship is ending but it also makes us feel soft and happy when the innocence overflows and we see how this relationship started. Heena Dsouza created a masterpiece depicting quite accurately how today’s relationships usually begin and end.
Streaming on YouTube.
Priyanka Banerjee’s Devi (2020)
If you haven’t watched “Devi,” the 13-minute masterpiece directed by Priyanka Banerjee, you’re missing out on something very important. This film is so layered that every time you watch it, you find something new. The movie grips your attention and slaps you in the face with the reality womxn experience in their everyday life.
A story that tells us that the vile act of r*pe doesn’t see age, caste, or clothes. Trigger Warning for this film but it is a must-watch by all. No words can describe the jerk that the ending gives to every person. The conversation between this group of womxn makes us come face to face with the uncomfortable and painful reality. Something so rampant that it almost feels like a given that one in every three womxn go through this daily. Banerjee has done an excellent job here and it makes you connect with the story because she understands the emotions these women go through.
Streaming on YouTube.
Grab a few snacks, snuggle in your blanket, and start watching!