Sand Parade

Sand Parade is the story of two young people forced to confront their shared past, fears and future when they reunite after years apart.

After some time away, our nomadic lead, Kevin, lands back in Dover, rescued from the middle of nowhere by an old friend, Joanna (Harding). However, their happy reunion shifts when Kevin reveals he is returning to Argentina, possibly forever. Facing what may be their final goodbye, they are forced to confront the thoughts and feelings they’ve always been too afraid to speak out loud.

Sand Parade is a considered and impressive short film that gets a lot right, but also feels like it's holding itself back in some respects. Visually and technically sound, the film, written, directed, and starring Bidar, explores a plethora of different themes, from love and longing to guilt and homesickness, the beautifully chosen landscape effectively evoking each of these in the viewer. Its minimalistic approach, either by choice, a consequence of certain restraints or both, is mostly played to its advantage, always working towards making sure every aspect serves the characters, the story and its emotion sufficiently. However, sometimes it does appear that the film is too content to operate on just one wavelength, one tempo, unwilling to ever dare to step out and take the risks needed for one truly stand-out moment.

Those aforementioned characters are where perhaps the film's biggest strength lies. While the specifics are never clear, it’s evident immediately through both incredible performances the depth and significance of the history here, the magnitude of affections and feelings perhaps never fully explored or discussed, something that right away makes both Kevin and Joanna engrossing characters to sit down with.

Bidar and Harding are electric together, a simple look between them at once tells a story filled with years of regret, longing and love that no amount of written dialogue could have done, the Bidar behind the camera allowing the performances to bring this sincere, character-driven piece to life, rather than force it out through any number of words. But neither character is allowed much space to inject any sort of impact or excitement into the piece, so while as much as these stellar performances do wonders to draw us in, it feels like the audience is always being kept just at arm's length, the film almost frustratingly never daring to take things up a gear.

While it might feel a bit safe at times, the desire for more should be a testament to all the clear strengths Sand Parade has as a film, not to mention Bidar as a filmmaker.