Sickly Yours* — A Daring Dive into Solipsism and Self, a short film by Semanti Mallick won Honorable Jury Mention at 14th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festval-25 on 20 July 2025 in Kolkata.
What if reality is nothing but a fragile dream held together by your mind — and what if you’re the only one that exists?In *Sickly Yours*, a hauntingly poetic short film by debutant director **SemantiMallick**, the viewer is lured into a fractured psychological landscape where **solipsism** and **alternate realities** collide. Produced by **SwarachitaMallick**, the film is a bold meditation on consciousness, isolation, and the haunting fragility of self-perception.
At its core, *Sickly Yours* follows the eerie, elusive dance between three characters — **Maya**, **Arjun**, and **Diya** — who seem both real and unreal, intimate yet unreachable. Maya exists like a phantom of thought,Arjun wrestles with truth and delusion, and Diya drifts between the known and the unknown, pulling the audience deeper into the abyss.
What sets *Sickly Yours* apart is its unapologetic refusal to explain. It doesn’t hand you answers — it offers questions wrapped in stunning monochromatic visuals, time loops, and metaphysical silences. There are echoes of Christopher Nolan’s narrative tricks and Tarkovsky’s slow cinema — yet the voice here is fresh, Indian, and deeply personal.With minimal dialogue and emotionally resonant performances, the film captures the unnerving quiet of a mind folding in on itself. Is Maya just a figment? Is Arjun dreaming? Or is Diya the last flicker of memory before everything collapses?
*Semanti Mallick* delivers not just a film, but an experience — cerebral, intimate, and deeply unsettling. In an age where cinema often spoon-feeds, *Sickly Yours* dares to whisper truths that can’t be spoken aloud.As the screen fades to black, only one thought lingers:*If the world is just my mind… what happens when I stop thinking?*
‘Sickly Yours’ truly represent the spirit of fearless, independent cinema. We applaud Semanti Mallick who shared her bold & unique visions with us,” said Rambhul Singh, Festival Director.
14th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festval-25, organized by Miniboxoffice, the festival received an overwhelming number of submissions from over 40 countries, making it one of the most vibrant showcases of independent cinema this year. From compelling short films and documentaries to powerful narratives and experimental works, the selected films left a lasting impact on both the jury and global audiences.
