The Hidden Side of the Moon

A dramatic short animated film written, produced, animated and directed by Australia and Nepal-based filmmaker and animator Prajdnik Awasthi.

Although there isn't really a narrative here, this short does tell a story and it involves a Nepalese father and his young so, whose bond is destroyed by a traumatic event. Interestingly, this terrible event is compared to the Earth and the Moon, with the Earth being the parent and the Moon being the boy. The comparisons are that the bond between the father and his son is as strong as the forces that connect the Earth and the Moon and that the Moon always has a side that is hidden from the Earth and this fact is transitioned to the youngster not revealing to his father what happened to him, and thus having a side not seen by the parent.

The visuals alternate between the Nepalese father and son and the Earth and the Moon, before mixing them together in order to visualise the comparisons. Sequences including the boy walking away from his sad father and the two of them losing the grip they have on each other while floating in space result in quite emotional moments and great colours and lighting place the animation in high quality standards.

The characters do not speak and narration is utilised instead in order to tell the story. The narrator is the son and he does more than storytelling, getting philosophical and heavily mourning the devastation caused by the occurrence that has separated him from his beloved father. Adding to the melancholic atmosphere is the sombre music by Jason Kunwar that plays throughout.

It is notable how much drama and emotion is generated by this seven-minute-long story. From start to finish, the sadness is evident thanks to the visuals, the narration and the music that combine and establish a poignant story and this is gives significant power to this short.

This film is very direct in recognising the significance of a father-and-son bond, how special and valuable this connection is and it is equally direct in acknowledging the massive psychological destruction that affects both parent and child by the event that caused the bond to break. This project dramatically points out how precious life is and how fragile it is, with people's worlds collapsing in the blink of an eye.

A sad but beautiful film.