An evocative evening of French and German short films in Mumbai explores stillness, abstraction, and instinctive storytelling, as filmmakers Camille Tricaud and Felix Hermann define cinematic language through sound, silence, and immersive visual poetry. Vinta Nanda writes...

Art Is Urgent. Cinema Is An Antidote.

There are evenings that pass, and then there are evenings that stay with you—quietly, insistently—long after the lights have come on. The French & German Short Film Evening at G5A was one such experience, where cinema did not demand attention but invited surrender.

Graced by the presence of Christoff Halier and his wife Sybille, the evening was seamlessly orchestrated by Christoff Rendtorff and team. With Institut Français India and the German Consulate in Mumbai coming together, the event reflected a rare cultural harmony—one that extended beyond diplomacy into the realm of shared artistic inquiry. Among those present was Mathieu Bejot from Institut Français India, alongside a gathering of artists, writers, and cinephiles including Sapna Bhavnani, Meghna Pant, Satyanshu Singh, Priyanka Shekhar, Alan McAlex, and German filmmaker Rafael.

Yet, beyond the names and the gathering, it was the cinema that held the room in a kind of contemplative stillness.

Cinema That Refuses Urgency

The films by Camille Tricaud and Felix Hermann are riveting—not in the conventional sense of pace or plot, but in their refusal to conform. They search for stillness in style and abstraction in form. The Wilds, in particular, emerges as a philosophical meditation rather than a narrative, inviting viewers into a space where meaning is not delivered, but discovered.

This is cinema that resists urgency. It does not rush to explain itself. Instead, it allows time—real, breathing time—to become part of the viewing experience. The filmmakers are in no hurry, and that unhurried gaze becomes their most radical tool.

The Sound of Instinct

One of the most striking aspects across all three films we saw is the sound design. It is not ornamental, nor does it follow predictable patterns. As the filmmakers shared in their interaction with the audience, their approach to sound is instinctive rather than structured.

Sound, in their world, is not merely accompaniment—it is narrative. It leads, disrupts, lingers. It fills the silences without overwhelming them. This instinctive approach creates an immersive experience, where the audience is not guided but gently nudged into feeling.

Their process, as they described, begins in life—observations, fragments, encounters—and then expands through images and sound into something that cannot be easily categorized. It is not storytelling in the traditional sense; it is an unfolding.

What makes their work extraordinary is their ability to capture stillness—not as absence, but as presence. In a cinematic landscape often driven by speed and resolution, this commitment to stillness feels almost rebellious.

The audience is not asked to follow a narrative arc, but to fall in step with the rhythm of the film. To watch, to absorb, to interpret. The abstraction within their films does not demand answers; it invites perception. What you take away is not what is told, but what you experience.

This is where their cinema becomes language—fluid, open-ended. 

Listening to Felix Hermann and Camille Tricaud speak, one could sense a rare synchronicity. They are completely in tune with each other—not just in craft, but in thought. Their collaboration is not divided; it is shared, seamless.

There is something profoundly reassuring about witnessing filmmakers who are not chasing trends, but carving their own path. For a young duo to arrive at such a distinct cinematic signature is no small achievement. Their work does not resemble anything familiar, and perhaps that is precisely its strength.

What they create can only be described as visual poetry—immersive, evocative, and deeply affecting.

An Evening That Lingers

As conversations flowed over cocktails on the terrace, one realised that the films had not ended—they had simply moved into dialogue. Into thought. Into memory. In a world that constantly demands certainty, this evening offered something else: ambiguity, reflection.

Art, indeed, is urgent. And cinema, in the hands of filmmakers like Tricaud and Hermann, becomes not just an escape—but an antidote.

Trending Now, What Everyone Is Talking About, Cultural Moment, Social Pulse, In The Spotlight, Internet Reacts, Current Conversations, This Moment Matters, Now Streaming In Public Discourse,