The second short movie I've analysed is Semele by Myosin Aristidou: a drama about a young girl looking for an excuse to see her absent father.
It's far more understated than Past The Second Stage, but that's why it works so well, and I'll be looking at it now to see what I can learn from it to add to Cumha.
The opening of Semele is quite abrupt, there's no fade in or title card, the movie simply starts in medias res with a close shot of Semele herself. Throughout the piece, extreme closeups are used to convey emotion, but it's never incredibly intense. Very few emotions ever go deep, except for disappointment, and because of this the whole piece feels very natural and not at all contrived. It feels very personal, and the audiences becomes a little bit uncomfortable to be viewing something so intimate, and this is a testament to how well the subtly of the piece works.
Some examples of the extreme closeups are the handheld camera shots that follow Semele when she walks, the shot of her hurt hand, and the emphasis placed on her father stroking her hair as they wait for the bus. 
Past The Second Stage may have been more direct with it's message because it was only 6 minutes long, Semele is 13 minutes long giving it more room to be vague. It would be nice to get Cumha to be as subtle as Semele, but it's over double the length, so it would be a real trial to match it's level.
One way in which Cumha could become as subtle as Semele is the similar approach to scripts: Semele is very minimalist in terms of verbal codes, and there are few exchanges that are more than three lines long. This adds to the movie feeling more realistic as well as the understated mood.
Unlike Past The Second Stage, there are very few lighting techniques to create anything particularly special. The lighting is kept bright, but natural, and there are aren't any standout shots of with backlighting in Semele as there were in the other piece.
Semele's size and youth are emphasised by her surrounding of the factory, and there are some lovely wide shots of her around machinery. These scenes have brighter colours, they're not necessarily more saturated, but they're warmer, symbolising her own content in her mission to see her father again.
The memory shots of Cumha could take their cue from this, as this is a trick also used in Past The Second Stage, making outdoor shots warmer and brighter.
The colour schemes are neutral, earthy, almost dull, colours throughout, and the choice of actors is excellent, with Semele being heavily contrasted by her heavy-browed, weather-beaten father. Once again, this all adds up to Semele not only being an emotional piece, but a realistic one where sometimes the real world is boring or ugly.
Another way Semele seems more realistic can be found in the climax of the short movie. There's no teary emotional outburst, or even a resolution. Just like in real life, there isn't an answer for Semele and her father, even though both of them clearly long for some kind of closure with each other. The pivotal prop, Semele's note from school, isn't even properly seen by the audience, only glimpsed when her father signs it and later when Semele tosses it out of the bus window.
Semele throwing the paper away suggests it was a fake note she created so she could see her dad, which makes the whole piece more potent.
I like this quiet reveal at the end that the audience has to think about to 'solve', it's something I've seen a lot of short movies do. Due to their compact runtime it appears to be quite common to give the movies ambiguous endings, and this could work nicely with Cumha.
When the credits roll at the end, they're equally as simple as the rest of the piece, just white text on a black background. This look is timeless, and I think it would suit Cumha nicely.
The title is also only shown at the end, this is something I've seen professional full length movies do too, such as The Dark Knight series.
I'm not sure if this is something we would consider with Cumha, as the word is key to the mood of the piece, and I would want it to be at the forefront.
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