Nostalgia is the desire to return to an earlier and happier time, usually at home in the literal or figurative sense. The longing combines pleasure (remembering the  good) with pain (recognizing that the treasured past is gone).

Jonas Dinal’s micro movie “Nostalgie” (French for nostalgia) uses this bitter-sweet homesickness to prod audiences into considering the consequences of our indifference to the environment. An entry in the 11th annual Mobile Film Festival, “Nostalgie” demonstrates how much drama can be presented in 60 seconds. Artistic elements to note include:

• using a public address announcer to dramatically handle exposition
• having the two main characters walk into a close-up to make their introduction kinetic
• breaking the fourth wall by having the characters seem to stare at the camera while they study a mysterious object from the past
• dressing the main characters in gas masks to establish wordlessly  the fact that the air is not safe to breath
• showing us what lies ahead by creating a puff of air pollution as the main characters exist the museum

The theme of this year’s Mobile Festival Festival is  “Act on Climate Change.” You can see the other entries–and vote for your favorite–at http://www.mobilefilmfestival.com