What would happen if a decadent humanity could choose freely how to conduct its existence within the confines of a postmodern Eden ( represented by the four elemrnts : Air, Water, Fire and Earth ) at its complete disposal? What choices would it adopt? What consequences? What truth would be extinguished in the concept of freedom? In this context, humanity should be understood in its specific meaning but also and especially as the feminine universe.

Director Damiano Rossi explores an abstract and almost fantasy concept with his short film What If, that unfortunately doesn’t land in delivering it’s intended message. Whilst their is a flicker of an idea in the theme, the performance alone isn’t able to carry it for the 10 minute run time.

The protagonist played by Natsumi Moonshine was a good choice and she does have a presence onscreen, making for some artful moments. But this is not enough to speak to an audience that are waiting for the film to start. More attention could have been spent on the wardrobe and makeup to give the character more to work with. Regardless, Natsumi did what she could with the abstract direction.

The production value is where the film falls short the most, as a more experienced DOP could have captured the story in a way that kept the viewer engaged. The location proved to have plenty of options from a framing perspective but was never used to it’s full potential. A range of camera angles and shallow depth of field really would have gone a long way at improving the composition and reduced the long single takes. The colour grade was inconsistent and over exposed the first third of the film which made it difficult to embrace.

The music had a lot of lifting to do as without it the film would have felt like an amateur fashion video. But the length of the film made the music repetitive and less significant due to how much it was needed.

There is something there in the film, but it needs developing and exploring with an experienced team to capture it on to the screen properly…

— APEX Film Awards