PremiumForeign language short films on Shortfundly to add variety to your watchlist - The Librarian to Beauty Boys
All these short films are streaming on Shortfundly and you can watch them with your OTTplay Premium subscription.
Last Updated: 01.19 PM, Apr 25, 2024
While feature films from across the world continue to mark their presence every week on the big screen and on streaming platforms, there is certainly an abundance of content. But amid the shows, movies, and many other forms of visual art, there is another effective form of filmmaking: the short film. In the last decade, the world has recognised the power of this medium and how even a brief 30-minute short film can attract a significant audience. The format has gained momentum and recognition over the years, leading to some of the most revered short films coming from across the globe, not just from well-known circles.
The conversation around popular short films from Hollywood, the Hindi film industry, and a couple of other industries is indeed rampant, and they manage to generate a decent buzz. Additionally, some of them even break through the clutter and reach the Oscar stage, attracting the eyeballs they need. However, many short films made in different parts of the world are just as worthy of praise as those that receive them but are often left unnoticed. Shortfundly, a digital platform included with the OTTplay Premium subscription, is a place where you can find many of quality foreign-language short films from across the world that are nuanced and brilliantly made.
So at OTTplay, as we continue to celebrate world cinema in all possible ways, we thought of introducing you to a lesser-known platform that houses some lesser-known foreign-language films. Meet new languages, new faces, and new filmmakers with a very distinct voice and visual perspective. Read on to learn more.
6 Nuanced Foreign Language Short Films on Shortfundly
The Librarian (2022)
Origin: Turkish.
The Librarian is a gem of a movie that managed to make a widespread buzz in 2022. Available on Shortfundly, Serken Akten writes, directs, and stars in the film. He plays a man who is stuck in the oddities of his existence, and a new language makes him uncomfortable because it breaks the monotony around him. Discover how a librarian, with no connection to the outer world and only books as his companions, comes to terms with this new trajectory.
One More Time (2023)
Origin: Chinese.
What do children with aspirations and ambitions do when they have no resources to fulfil them? Do they give up or create a way? The answer is subjective. But for these teenagers from a college far from downtown, their dream of skateboarding is rock solid, and they can do anything to fulfil it. One More Time is a documentary short film that captures the resilience of these teenagers who get up no matter how many times they fall, without a proper ground to practice on or a professional teacher to guide them. This short film is indeed an eye-opener about all the privileges we live with and how we should be thankful.
Beauty Boys (2020)
Origin: French.
In a small French village, 17-year-old Leo loves makeup and applying it to himself. For a world unaware of what drag culture is, he is a black sheep, kept tightly hidden inside by his elder brother, who fears the consequences of his brother’s ambitions being revealed in the open. But for how long can someone stay suppressed? On the day of an open stage, Leo dresses up as an unapologetic, beautiful drag queen and breaks the stage with his confidence. The short explores the lives of people living in closets in places that have not marched alongside popular culture.
My Mom Is (Not) The Best (2021)
Origin: Russian.
This is one of those immersive movies where a family decodes and learns secrets about each other on a journey to a place that holds their roots. My Mom Is (Not) The Best is a short film that manages to capture the essence of the relationship between a mother and a daughter who are en route to their ancestral home to fulfil their late grandmother’s wish to celebrate the new year there. On the journey, the daughter wants to break free and have authority over her life, but the mother doesn't like the idea. Secrets are spilled, and demons are addressed.
Time Out (2021)
Origin: Persian.
A newlywed couple starts living in their new abode, which they have shaped with their ambitions and dreams. The home is where they plan to build their world. But they are unprepared for what is to come. Soon they unknowingly get involved in the death of their neighbour, which happens under very strange circumstances, and even the police are trying to investigate the case.
Ode to the Climate (2020)
Origin: Italian.
In a one-of-a-kind short film, an experiment conducted during the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ode to the Climate asked Mother Nature "Why," and she answered. The short film looks at climate change and how we might be getting closer to dystopia with each breath at this moment. The catastrophe haunts us and is sitting in the near future if we don't act now.
All these short films are streaming on Shortfundly, and you can watch them with your OTTplay Premium subscription. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.