Скачать с ютуб Chasing social media fame - "Rani" Short film (abridged) в хорошем качестве

Chasing social media fame - "Rani" Short film (abridged)

9 minutes | Drama A poor single mother who is in search of fame and attention wears fake attire that becomes her only identity after her son is killed. Language: Urdu Filmed: Karachi, Pakistan Starring: Oswin Leonard, Shumaila, Osama, Mohsin, Areeb, Khizer Directed by: Hiba Rahman, 2023. "Rani" is a Pakistani short film eponymously titled after the main character, Rani, who works as a housekeeper in a middle class household and has aspirations for upward mobility. The son of the house is a social media influencer and has a phone that “only” costs 150,000 rupees (almost 540 USD in 2024). Rani finds the number itself exhausting, but also sees this as the necessary cost to fame. It’s not explained why she thinks this exactly because it seems as if correlation truly equals causation in the beginning. At first one thinks that she’s looking for more attention that social media can bring, but it’s only scary clear when she takes her son to buy a better phone from the black market for him to make videos with that she tells him she can replace the wedding ring she sold with ten rings when they become TikTok famous. The beginning of the film starts with a one-shot following various people glued to their phones as they walk around the neighborhood. Some are texting and some are filming videos for social media (one person appears to be doing shadowboxing). The film shows how this neighborhood isn’t looked after, perhaps explaining why people are seeking an escape into their phones. It doesn’t appear as though everyone is seeking a financial way out of their situation, but a social one. This seems likely as the person who sells Rani and her son the possibly stolen phone, poses as a religious figure on social media, telling others that stealing is wrong. Evidently, he’s not promoting his store– just himself. So Rani has sold her wedding ring for a different life that social media can bring. Her son is already making videos for social media, but starring in them as the beloved single mother doesn’t seem to do it for her. Either the content isn’t making them extra money or it simply isn’t intriguing to her. What does seem exciting is creating content about herself as a distressed single mother depicted in a stretch of reality and a clear shift in realism to cynical metaphor, as a single mother whose son has just died. It isn’t until the end of the film where it’s clear that she orchestrated the murder of her son and the theft of the phone they just bought. We see this reveal in a montage of her mourning the death of her son in a filming studio with a proper lighting set up as she’s filmed by the son of the household she works for. “More tears equals more likes,” he says, as he gives Rani eye drops. Rani had not only sold her ring to afford the phone, but she said she received an advance from her employer, which one could assume at the end was the boy, the son of the house. While Rani is obviously complicit in the murder of her own son, the role of the rich son can’t be ignored, regardless of how subtle it may have been. Popular content on social media often includes some capital behind it, in the form of eating out, going on vacation, or having some unique experience that money can give access to. Even videos which might not highlight these activities, it could be argued that the time it takes to come up and film unique content is sometimes less for the average working person. For those who cannot afford the resources to produce such content, they work with what they have and for Rani, it involves the fetishization of her own socioeconomic status; playing into the judgements and stereotypes people assume for someone in her position. While such thieving and killing could be common in their neighborhood, the decision to film their reaction in a professional studio might not be the first thing on a mourning parent’s mind. The unique content had to have been ideated and constructed by someone who had the leisure to hypothesize what would work on social media and how to best position the content so it attracts a wide range of viewers. Hiba Rahman is a recent graduate in Media Studies from the Institute of Business Management. A storyteller and a filmmaker, her path so far has been an exciting exploration of creativity and visual expression. She entered the industry as an associate/assistant producer on projects like "Sadhay 14 August" and "Nayab." She aspires to direct and produce her own feature film. "Rani" is a reflection of the inspiration she drew from the people she's met. As she invites you to join her on this cinematic journey, she hopes to convey emotions, spark thoughts, and create connections that linger long after the credits roll. "It is a moment of pride for me, both as a writer and director to have this film exhibited here." - Hiba Rahman SUPPORT US ON PATREON:   / jojaentertainment