In a society where male authority and dominance continue to prevail, and women are often confined to the kitchen, women have frequently been denied opportunities to express themselves through their own artistic creations. This has been particularly true in cinema, where women were rarely given opportunities behind the camera—in direction, screenwriting, or cinematography—and were largely confined to appearing in front of it. Today, that situation is changing, though only very slowly.There are several reasons for this. The spread of education, the growing discourse around gender equality, and the technological revolution in the digital sphere are some of them.The possibilities opened up by the digital revolution, particularly the fact that films can now be shot even on a mobile phone, have made it possible for anyone to translate their ideas and imagination into artistic images without the need for substantial capital. From Assam, one of the eastern states of India, women filmmakers are entering the world of cinema despite numerous obstacles and are gradually attracting international attention. A younger generation of filmmakers such as Rima Bora and Rima Das is being watched by the film world with great hope.

It is in this context that I would like to draw attention to a short film shot and edited entirely on a mobile phone. Inclination, a beautiful 5.5-minute short film by the young filmmaker Smriti Prakash Boruah, is an impressive work. Smriti themself has written, directed, and shot the film.They are from Bokuloni Chariali, a village near Duliajan, 600 km away from Guwahati.

They have transformed a very simple premise into a deeply moving experience. There are very few characters and hardly any dialogue. All the characters are women.The complete absence of even a single male character also strikes me as a significant artistic and political choice.

The characters are a mother and daughter from a wealthy household, and another mother and daughter who are poor, isolated, and employed in that household. While the child from the affluent family enjoys dressing up in new clothes, her mother, filled with an inner sense of sadness and helplessness, buys a dress for her own daughter from a market instead of purchasing the clothes she herself urgently needs.The visuals also suggest that this woman is a single mother with no one else to turn to.

The film's thematic setting, its visual treatment, and its cinematography have all been conceived with considerable care. What amazes me is the result achieved without expensive modern filmmaking equipment, simply by shooting with a mobile-phone camera. The sound design is equally thoughtful. Natural sounds, restrained music, and silence are carefully employed at different moments, enhancing the emotional atmosphere of the film.

The film demonstrates that Smriti possesses both the sensibility and the ability to work on a much larger canvas and make a full-length film. A work of art comes into being when a filmmaker has something to say—to themselves and to the world.

Women have long been told that they are less capable than men and therefore must remain subordinate to them. But women's experiences are like hidden whirlpools and storms in the depths of the ocean. When women write or make films, they carry within their hearts the burning wounds of those invisible experiences buried in those depths. If one listens closely, one can hear within them the roar of an immense ocean of women's immense sorrows.

Cinematic techniques constitute the fundamental language of storytelling in film.They encompass a diverse range of visual, aural, and narrative methods that are carefully designed to guide the audience's emotions and perceptions. Visual techniques are particularly important in shaping how viewers understand a film.The conscious choice and use of lighting, colour, and composition are crucial for establishing the psychological state of characters, creating visual contrasts, and adding depth to a scene. Different camera angles and perspectives—close-ups, wide shots, low-angle and high-angle views—are employed to draw attention to significant elements, establish thematic meanings, and reveal hidden relationships and power dynamics. Smriti's film demonstrates that they have understood these fundamental principles of cinematic language.

We all write, make films, paint, or create art, in one way or another, to address ourselves, to console ourselves, to liberate ourselves, or simply to experience joy. Those who are disturbed by the fact that everyone is now writing poetry, making short films, and creating reels through the possibilities of cyberspace, and who mock or condemn this phenomenon, are still carrying the burden of a feudal elitism.

Humanity has always dreamed of a time when everyone writes poetry, makes films, paints, sings, and dances.The freedom offered by cyberspace is a fourth space—a new public sphere of creative expression.Those who were denied space in the print media no longer have to accept defeat, return in disappointment, and abandon writing altogether, as often happened in the past. Filmmakers too no longer have to give up simply because they cannot find theatres or other conventional spaces for exhibiting their work. Everyone now has a space where they can freely share their creations. No one can simply shut that space and drive them out.

At the same time, film festivals—large and small—are opening up new possibilities for films of every scale. It is both a joyful sight and an inspiring realization to see creators like Smriti courageously crossing the barriers of injustice and marginalisation, travelling towards people in distant places with their own creations, and asserting their presence in the world.

(V. K. Joseph is a veteran film critic, scholar, and cultural organiser from Kerala. He is the President of FIPRESCI-India and editor of E-CineIndia. He is also Chief Editor of Drishyathalam, the monthly journal of the Federation of Film Societies of India. A member of the Board of Studies for MA Film Studies at Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University, he has also served as Vice-Chairman and Executive Board Member of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. He has been closely associated with major film festivals and cultural initiatives in Kerala, including IFFK and IDSFFK.)