Home Is Distant Shores Film Festival 2020: When Summer Comes and Your Hands in My Hair

The two shorts - When Summer Comes, and Your Hands in My Hair - share a common emotion. Both of them capture that perfect, happy moment of life before everything breaks to pieces.

In director Jiwon Uhm's When Summer Comes, two best friends Yerin (Courtney Chu) and June (Ellie Kim) live the last days before their separation. They think of it as temporary split-up. Yerin's family is moving to Seoul. For all she knows, June will join her next year or next to next year. "We will see each other eventually," she casually remarks. June exhibits no such coolness with this transfer. The very mention of "new friends" leaves her down. As a last revisit, they storm the corridors of the school where they went together.

We all have been in their shoes. My father's job required us to often shift places. I made a pact with a few good friends to meet as adults. Unfortunately, social media was not so popular back then. I don't even know where they are now. Yerin's calm behaviour reminded me of my attitude as I took leave from my friends with nonchalant confidence, of interacting in the future.

Yerin gets upset when she learns about June going to Vietnam. The uncomfortable feelings give rise to one of the most realistically portrayed fights.

When Summer Comes is held together with exceptional cinematography by Sunnie Kim, capturing the intimacy of the moment. The verdant greens, the sunlight leap out of the frame and into your surrounding. The young actors dial up the believability of the friendship. But it is their mothers who achieve the greatest possible goal in a camaraderie. They are childhood besties. This tradition is now continued by the daughters. Close friends often dream of this situation. The mothers have achieved it. Yerin's and June's fate is unpredictable. But that shouldn't stop them from living in the present, bathing in the warmth of summer. Someday, after many many many years, this moment might light up their faces.

I went further and found myself among the memories of my crush (there were quite a few) as I watched Amitabh Joshi's Your Hands in My Hair. Nitin, sporting long strands of hair, falls in love with his friend Samantha. Boys go to any length to impress a girl. Normally, Nitin would have never taken scissors near to his hair. But when Samantha suggests a cut, he slashes through them. We all had such infatuation towards someone who made us do things we would typically avoid. I once gelled my hair because she thought it would be nice. I got severe hair falls, which are thankfully now under control. Samantha rubs Nitin's hair and says, "I like it." Why, obviously he did it for you. His cheeks turn red.

Alas, the bliss is interrupted as Samantha gets ready to leave next week. From next week, she would not be sitting with him at the park. She would not be criticizing or complimenting his hair. She would not be there to play games. Nitin asks his mother if he could go with Samantha. Both When Summer Comes, and Your Hands in My Hair have truth in them. Cinematography plays a vital role in them. The filmmakers present a part of their life, and you ride along. Not only because you feel them but also because they are presented with honesty. If nothing else, these two shorts deserve to be watched in this festival.

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