Yesod is a science fiction short film starring Tarek Bob and Nermin Habib written and directed by Nizar Nassar.
Yesod is the absolute quintessential representation of the fact that you don't need the budget of James Cameron's Avatar, or the very expensive cameras used in Denis Villeneuve's Dune to make something extraordinary and original in the science fiction genre
For a low budget film, it was really well made from the cinematography, to the acting, and the original score. The sound production was utilized very well. There are many many scenes with no dialogue but what the characters are doing on screen speaks volumes.
With a runtime of 26 minutes, very minimal dialogue, and a budget of $10,000, I really felt like I knew exactly what the protagonist was thinking and feeling. It was written so well that I felt like that's what I would do in that situation. Nassar makes it work because it's exceptionally believable.
From the very first shot, it is visually amazing. The visual identity of the film makes you feel like you are in this world. We follow a male protagonist whose name is never revealed in a post apocalyptic world, hundreds of years into the future where the radiation from the sun wipes out everyone on earth except a very few. One of them is our protagonists who lives in an underground bunker. The only way he can go outside is with a fully equipped suit that can handle the ongoing radiation in the air. When our male protagonist steps outside, we see footprints which are way out of the norm given that all humans have been wiped out. It belongs to a female that attacks him like a feral animal. They both realize that they are no real threat to each other, or are they? Throughout the film, they try to communicate by any means but words and coexist as "civil" humans.
The overall pacing of the film was easily digestible, engaging, and dynamic. The underground set design was simply amazing and unbelievable given that the production resources were minimal. Great use of lighting and color scheme.
It is extremely hard to make a short budget sci fi film with very few pieces of dialogue that doesn't bore the audiences and at the same time persuade them to turn off their temporary suspension of belief.. Nizar Nassar has produced an exceptional film and I hope to see more films like this. Go check it out.