See Me | 2022-23

“Shwetal and I met at R.V. Ramani’s online filmmaking workshop in December 2021 during the pandemic. A casual conversation sparked the idea for a short film that would in a funny way capture a peculiar time in history when virtual was the only way to connect. Through the film which amplifies the unfiltered spontaneity of Zoom, we explored ideas of the self-gaze mirror, the construction and fracturing of identities, and the simple things we did to live one day at a time. We worked remotely through the project and only met in person one year after the film was made, and for the second time at the premiere of the film!”

See Me is a 10-minute experimental short that amusingly grapples with the absurdity of our present part virtual-part real lives.

Shot on Macbook Pro over a live video call, the home becomes a stage and conversations with self and “others” in the digital realm become drama in this one actor, one space film. Set in the anxieties of the Covid era, See Me offers a slice of life as the protagonist, stuck in a call with bad connectivity, attempts to find solace in Zoom, self-talk and mundane routines. 

Co-written and directed by Shereen Saif and Bangalore based multi-media visual artist, designer and archivist Shwetal Bhatt, the film examines how the screen becomes both a mirror and a window into one’s own surroundings and the role it plays in shaping our identities.

See Me premiered in January 2023 at a private screening held at Lahe Lahe, Bangalore followed by a panel discussion with the artists and Rashmi Devi Sawhney, a writer and film, media and cultural theorist. Moderated by entrepreneur, communication professional and Founder of ‘The 100 Saree Impact’, Anju Maudgal Kadam, the talk back with the audience uncovered the process and thinking behind the film.