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Tribeca and Huff Post have been busy publicizing an article about 'how short film are too hard to access, but too important not to watch'. In all fairness they are not too hard to access given the number of online platforms streaming free short films like YouTube and vimeo. In all honesty, short films do not find an audience easily because of lack of EXPOSURE. The audiences of today's internet immersed world need an 'x-factor', a 'wow factor' to make them overcome their apathy to clicking play let alone go looking for shorts. However, those shorts that have the 'x factor', 'wow factor' are the ones that have stars in them which inevitably means it will have journalists from film magazines reviewing, embedding hence promoting the film. EMOTIONAL FUSEBOX is one such a short film which despite it's lack of oomph will certainly get exposure courtesy of our sycophancy with celebrity and recognition. As a short film Emotional Fusebox employs some well-known British TV/film stars who deliver credible performances though the most endearing ones are that of Anna's best friend and grandmother. The short tells the story of a young woman who has set up home in her mother's garden shed and refuses to interact with the world outside. the screenplay is saved by the humour and performances of the grandmother and best friend. The directing leaves a lot to be desired as there is nothing of note in the visual narrative as the story relies heavily on lackluster and obvious dialogue and sometimes cute but very labored use of props. In hindsight, it is always a good idea for actors not to laugh out of character when they know a dialogue is funny as if laughing at the 'cleverness' of what they are executing. In all fairness, the short film seems to raise your curiosity because of the premise of a girl living in a shed but it misses the mark on satisfying that curiosity in a big way.

The poster grabs you and so does the blurb on a story about man without his skin and you decide you like to see this but then its all downhill thereafter. Ben Aston's short film lacks story, style and good acting. Playing more like a metaphor on a couple's life initially, it becomes all about the 'cool' effect of seeing a man in a muscle suit leaving blood marks everywhere and the wife having to always clean up after him. Seriously, where is the story? Even films made breaking conventional story telling rules have a strong story. This short doesn't do story. The blood stained muscle suit and props connect the dots without allowing us to invest in anything of the characters. The excessive use of voice-over like the blood marks turns what could have been a potentially good short into a silly and boring one.

Outpost is a Bro-mance of sorts set in a desert outpost, on the border between India and Pakistan, guarded by one soldier on each side. Shiva Shankar Bajpai's 16 minute short will make you smile and laugh at a couple of points as a goat, an unseen mosquito and the two leads, Deepak Dobriyal and Pankaj Tripathi, hold your attention more than the weak story. The dialog is as sparse as the terrain and you are made to wait and wait for something to happen. There is an episodic and predictable feel to the short as we wait for our characters to let their guard down, in the absence of authority, and connect with one another. The absence of authority does make you question the believability of the story and setting given the real world volatility of the India/Pakistan border. I think Bajpai misses a great opportunity in not exploring his characters by way of a better story and screenplay. The cinematography and directing is adequate and once again missed opportunity at creating a stylized film.

------------------------------------------- OUTPOST was one of eight short films nominated for the Satyajit Ray Foundation Short Film Award, that I watched on Tuesday the 15th July 2014 as part of the London Indian Film Festival at the ICA in Central London. Unfortunately I can't post reviews on three of the eight shorts: RANI, ALCHEMY & DEVIL IN BLACK STONE as they don't have supporting IMDb pages.