Esther Yu's Love Game in Eastern Fantasy domestically beats Zhao Lu Si's The Story of Pearl Girl
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Hello everyone! For my first article, I thought I'd talk about my new addiction: short films! I love watching those in-between dramas or when I'm in a slump and need a break. So maybe you will also find something that might interest you here! First of all, what is a short film really? Generally speaking, any movie that is less than 30 minutes long is considered a short film. Some festivals do accept and consider longer movies (around 40-50 minutes) short films too, but that's not the industry standard. |
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And what makes them special? For me is the creative ways that the creators come up with to tell the story. Because of the time restriction, short films usually can't fit a lot of plot and character development as we would see in full-length movies. But that is not always a bad thing. Thanks to that, filmmakers are forced to find new and unique ways to make us empathise with the characters and understand why they act in a certain way without using too much screen time showing their backgrounds. Another reason may be that those films are normally distributed on social media or other self-publishing platforms, so they have way fewer restrictions than they would have on a mainstream media. All of that allows the screenwriters and directors to be a lot more imaginative and creative! It also gives us a way to watch them on legal and free platforms while supporting the creators. There are a lot of amazing Asian short films out there! Some with a long list of awards, some with strong and important social criticism, some with great unknown actors! Here are 10 of my recommendations. I hope you find something you like! |
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| Title: A Day Country: South Korea Duration: 25 minutes Genres: Drama, Family This is a super wholesome, heartwarming short film that will make you smile a lot, laugh and get teary and emotional at the same time. It tells the story of an old lady who one day decides to take a walk to remember the past 90 years of her life. Along the way, she meets all kinds of people that represent the stages of her life. Link to the official video | Title: Yuwol Country: South Korea Duration: 25 minutes Genres: Music, School This one I was amazed to find out it is supposed to be "just" a graduation thesis project film! It's one of my favourites. It tells the story of Yuwol, a boy that never stops dancing, even for a moment. One day a dance virus spreads in his school, and his teachers start to chase him thinking he is the culprit that started the virus. The way they tell a story using music and dance, not only words, is incredible and so is the cinematography in this! Link to the official video |
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| Title: Summer, Bus Country: South Korea Duration: 20 minutes Genres: Drama, Life There's not much story: it shows the everyday life of a bus driver and the people that he meets during the day. But it's the most heartwarming 20 minutes drive. It will make you smile and feel somehow nostalgic. I also need to praise the cinematography, that was amazing! Link to the official video | Title: Right Place Country: Japan Duration: 5 minutes Genres: Drama, Life Another simple slice of life one. It is about "an obsessive-compulsive Japanese store clerk, who has everything in its rightful place. However, he cannot find his own place." I love the flow of this one and how much they manage to tell in only 5 minutes. It makes you empathize with the story even if not much is told. Link to the official video |
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| Title: The Dolls With Attitude Country: Japan Duration: 6 minutes Genres: Comedy, Horror Despite the genres, for me, this is neither Comedy nor Horror, it's a social criticism about how more and more people are becoming empty dolls just to fit in with society. Always with a smile on the face to please other people and forgetting our true essence. And here this is shown through Eri, a girl who turns into a doll that has a permanent smile on her face but no one notices that. Link to the official video | Title: Ophelia Country: Philippines Duration: 15 minutes Genres: Family, Drama Trigger warning: suicide! The warning is an ending spoiler, but it may not be safe for some people, so I want to make sure it is clear. That being said, this is such an important film about mental health! So well made and so much conveyed in such a short time! Especially coming from an Asian country, where going to therapy is still seen as a bad thing. The screenwriter said they wanted to "reach out and tell people they are not alone." Link to the official video |
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| Title: Molave Street Country: Philippines Duration: 10 minutes Genres: Drama, Life The concept may seem simple: a young girl telling the story of her home street and introducing the people that live there. But it goes way beyond that. With great cinematography, they show the two sides that people around us have and we don't always see. The person we judge to be nice and pure might be someone else when no one is looking. Someone we judge to be the most confident might be going through a lot more than we can tell. What we see is not always reality. Link to the official video | Title: The Story of 90 Coins Country: China Duration: 10 minutes Genres: Romance, Drama The Story of 90 Coins is a character-driven emotional love story. It's about a young woman who aspires to be a fashion designer and her journey finding out the true meaning of love. She gets to a point where she has to choose between fulfilling her promise and realizing her dream. The cinematography is, again, praiseworthy. It has some incredibly beautiful shots. Link to the official video |
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| Title: Beats per Mizu Country: Japan Duration: 30 minutes Genres: Music, Romance For a simple romance, there's Beats per Mizu that was released recently. It tells the story of Sumiko, "a university student who is blessed (or suffers) from a special ability to instantly grasp the BPM (beats per minute) of almost anything. One day she meets a boy who inexplicably sends her own BPM off the charts!" Link to the official video | Title: Snow Country: Philippines Duration: 8 minutes Genres: Comedy, Youth Snow is a more silly and light short film. It is set in the Philippines during the '90s. The story is about three little boys trying to impress a girl. She gives an impossible challenge to each one of them, and whoever succeeds will become her "eternal boyfriend." Link to the official video |
| As this is my first article, please feel free to drop any feedback below! I'd also love to know if you have any other recommendations for short films! Thanks for reading!  |
