Film festivals, in addition to showcasing a wide variety of feature films, are often a fantastic opportunity to shed more light upon the oft-forgotten art of the short film. One of the highlights of this year’s ShortFusion programme is DAYS OF AWE, directed by Rehana Khan, which will screen as part of the TO CELEBRATE collection.

The film focuses on the tragic aftermath of a young Jewish woman coming out to her family. The title is named after the Ten Days of Repentance in Judaism, with the film taking place over that length of time. Khan doesn’t view the film as an explicit comment on the clash between issues of religion and sexuality, however, but simply as an observation that “even those who are loved can slip through the net”.

“I originally wrote the script in November 2010 after hearing about the increase in young gay suicides due to online bullying in the USA”

“I originally wrote the script in November 2010 after hearing about the increase in young gay suicides due to online bullying in the USA,” says Khan.”Then the London Jewish Film Festival competition for writers to submit short scripts came along. I realised this problem is happening to gay people of all cultures and religious groups across most continents, so I rewrote it with a Jewish character and her family – I didn‘t get the funding! But the script became more layered and felt stronger for it.”

Viewers of DAYS OF AWE will acknowledge the tremendous impact the film has in its short running time, partially as a result of the decision to try and depict the passing of time in one continuous take. “I wanted to see if we could show that as one continuous take with lighting effects creating a slightly eerie sense”, says Khan, “but also to make the audience sense the emptiness and passing of time. I thought the slow pace of the tracking would also create a paradox against the build of urgency in the phone messages [that play during the film].”

In fact, there is a very strong case that the impact of DAYS OF AWE owes much to the short film format itself. “I think short films can have huge impact”, Khan agrees. “At its world premiere in Montreal in early September, several public audience members came up to me after each of its three screenings to say exactly that: how the film had such an impact in such a short space of time. That‘s wonderfully powerful feedback for a shorts filmmaker.”

“I thought the slow pace of the tracking would also create a paradox against the build of urgency in the phone messages [that play during the film].”

At first, the decision to place a tragic tale in the strand TO CELEBRATE may seem incongruous, but this year’s programmer of ShortFusion, João Serejo, had the kaleidoscope of human viewpoints on his mind. “When conceiving the programme‘s concept I questioned myself about the duality of perspectives. What for some people might be considered as love, for others it might be interpreted as hate”, says Serejo. “Just change the religion, the culture, the ideals. On top of that, I wanted to surprise, to make some waves, take for example the strand TO CELEBRATE: with this title one would assume it is some cheerful when, in fact, is about mourning, about grief. The perspective is in the eyes of the beholder.”

DAYS OF AWE is but one part of a stellar programme of shorts, which will provide an excellent addition to the range of features running.

TO CELEBRATE, including DAYS OF AWE will screen at 11pm on Saturday 15th September. Tickets available here.