MEDIA TRAINED (2025)

Influencer culture is interesting on many levels, but one is the way it intertwines with hustle mindset while intersecting with narcissism. That’s not to say every influencer is a hustler or narcissist, but there are elements of those traits that are necessary to utilize when creating content and keeping up with social media. Not to mention the productizing of oneself will cause a weird self-awareness (or self-absorption) that can easily turn toxic.

That’s some of the themes of the excellent short film MEDIA TRAINED by writer/director Punya Chatterjee. The story focuses on a would-be influencer (Zay Dante) trying to navigate the world while constantly falling prey to his own egotism and narcissistic tendencies. Eventually something’s gotta give and does so in spectacular fashion.

MEDIA TRAINED premiered at LA Shorts Fest in 2025.