No Love Lost

I am a big fan of films and am enjoying the Omaha Film Festival. Sadly the festival finishes today but I am hoping there will be more good films to see. It's been a mixed bag. My stand-out film of the festival is this short film NO LOVE LOST. I have seen a few films over the years that have no dialog and No Love Lost did it so well. The story is beautiful and powerful. You think it will go in one direction but it takes a few turns because the director makes you stay with each and every character, with each and every moment in the film. I loved the actors and how they portrayed their characters. It's a story about love and differences between people and how our prejudices can dictate us in every little thing. The directing is just awesome and I checked out other work by the director. His film Faux Depart made me go wow too. Love the music on the film. I am keeping my fingers crossed Omaha will give the film the Best Short Film award.

I want to say brilliant and beautiful but it's what all the reviewers who loved the film like I did had to say. There is no doubting this is a brilliant and beautiful piece of filmmaking. Subtle, powerful and non-judgmental.As I was watching, i really thought something predictable or some cliché is about to jump out at me but the writer/director Shekhar Bassi does not so that. The actors and acting are wonderful to watch. I recognized Meena Rayann from Games of Thrones. The direction and cinematography standout just as does the editing. Love the flow and pace of the film. The visuals story-telling works perfectly with the music which is a proper score.I am looking forward to seeing more films from the very talented writer/director Shekhar Bassi.

I want to thank my friends who shared a Facebook post about No Love Lost with me. It was a Vimeo link to No Love Lost. Am not a regular Vimeo visitor because I have never agreed with the whole idea of being told what to do or what is good for me. For some reason sites like Vimeo and Short of the Week think they know what I would like or is my pick or is my short of the week. I can judge good and bad for myself.

OK, it's good but not great, especially unsatisfying when it's headed to the requisite poignancy. Seemed half-baked and experimental but needed complexity of resolution, sharpness, definition. The conclusion is bland. Just one reviewer's impression, but I would like to commend the filmmaker for providing another representation of a great sociological dysfunction: prejudice. I wish the product taught a stronger, more forceful lesson...a lesson like a kill-shot.

(My words have been translated from Spanish to English by a friend.)

It is the best film I have seen at the Ojo Al Sancocho. A very talented director with a smart and emotional story. I love cinema and am always wanting to see films from everywhere in the world. The festival Ojo Al Sancocho gives an opportunity to see many short films but a lot of these are from my continent and the stories are not special. No Love Lost made me feel it was made for me. It was imagined for me. It was meant to speak to me. I liked very much the director choosing to have no dialogue in the film. It made the film powerful and my heart moved with the emotional and visual journey that the three beautiful characters were taking. I think the music is beautiful and it is from a Brazilian composer. Wonderful to see that film is so universal in story and in design. No love lost is an amazing cinematic film that makes you question how do you view the people around you. Do you believe what you see or do you try to understand what you don't see. I am now hoping that one day I will see a long film from this brave filmmaker.

Can one say that a filmmaker is 'viciously talented'? If not, I would like to coin that phrase and apply it to the filmmaker behind this short film. Shekhar Bassi's 'No Love Lost' is a superb film and piece of filmmaking. I am not one for waxing lyrical about every great film I see or sitting down to write about it. The last one I sang praises about was 'Frank' and now this film. Saw it last night at the Portobello Film Festival as part of a programme of short films titled 'Love'. Four films into the programme, I could not decide if I should get myself drunk to sit through the rest or whether I should just leave because the films were bad but it was a free screening. 'No Love Lost' was the fifth film and I am glad I stayed - the best film of the night and of the festival so far.

A story of forbidden love but nothing like you would ever expect and trust me when I say reading the synopsis or seeing the trailer does not prepare you for the unexpected. Discounting a short litany of prayers, there was no dialogue in the film just a brilliant music score. You were kept guessing where the film was going and from start to finish I was on the edge of my seat. The writing, the directing, the cinematography, the acting is awesome. I loved the fact that the film had two strong and central female characters and they were not stereotypes. Each of the characters including the smaller parts did so much, said so much by saying nothing.

After watching so many films and short films over the years and going to all the festivals in London I have to confess this director and his short film are the first to make my jaw drop and really really impress me. One of the coolest things is that this is a British film. People should watch this film and I hope all the festivals choose to show his brilliant work.