Anuja (2024)
Anuja Review
Anuja is a 2024 short film directed by Adam J. Graves. It’s a very moving flick.
When a gifted nine-year-old girl, who works in a garment factory, gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to attend school, she must make a heart-wrenching decision that will determine her and her sister’s fate. This is a very emotional Indian drama about child labor and the difficulties that young girls may face in this country. It doesn’t have the best third act, but the first half is excellent.
Anuja is well acted, solidly shot and very well directed. The highlight is the sisterly relationship that is the emotional crux of the story. I also really appreciated the scenes of bonding and shared goals and aspirations that the two have. There are scenes of optimism here that deftly contrasted the inherently dark premise. I just wished that it was a more complex story given its 20-minute runtime as it felt too simple overall.
