SHORTS

The Colour Blue

A story of isolation, bullying, despair and homophobia – 2024 – Australia

While this might have been filmed some time ago, its message is still relevant and unfortunately, and sadly, its thesis may never become outdated (at least in my lifetime). It’s a story about 2 best friends. She encourages him to tell his family that he is gay.

This small gem of a film points out the conflicting responses people have, especially family members have, when their versions of an ideal family composition burst. It also unravels a life-long friendship. The glue that bound them together can no longer cement the friendship.

It becomes astonishing how we, as victims, must learn to respond to them and their needs rather than the other way around. Somehow and in some way, they are wounded. We are not broken; they are. We are whole and they are not. They have to put their shattered pieces together whereas we are complete. Unfortunately, occasionally it takes a tragedy to see the light. In this case, it was nearly too late. Nearly.

In the end, the quote from the Dalai Lama succinctly and beautifully encapsulates the theme of this short portrayal. ”Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

I Was Just The Mail Guy…

More than a story about unconnected love and more about the underlying feeling – 2025 – United States

It is a fascinating and intriguing treatise of a colorful story of not just misunderstanding but of poetic providence. While fictional, it sounds and feels so real, and I can think of it forthrightly happening, especially in a small-town setting.

The characters are described so vividly that we can easily picture them.  Having grown up in a small town where indeed football was king, this type of story is quite imaginable. I loved the theatrics of all of it.

Treat yourself to its journey. Just relax. Sit back and embrace the ride. You can even close your eyes and merely listen.  If you are from the United States, perhaps you might appreciate its references more but do not let that deter you from reflecting. The message is clear and universal.

Enjoy!

Routine

A closeted teen tries to break through the bigotry and homophobia of his surroundings – 2022 – Mexico

This is another tragic story of a closeted teen living in a Catholic country filled with homophobic parents in a society that is patricidal and abusive. His life is so ‘routine’ with his only relief is escaping into a world of fantasy in his own room.

For someone at his age and his circumstances, all he can see, and feel, is the suppression and repression of his family, his religion, and the societal standards. With little to no hope. He takes a shining to one of his classmates and for a brief moment they manage to escape and enjoy the pleasures of being free.

Unfortunately, his father catches him with his boyfriend and beats him savagely while his mother watches and can only pray for him Eventually and literally rejecting him. The outcome is inevitable.

This is universally a broken record we see over and over again. The parents cannot accept their son as being gay for a variety of reasons but most religious. It is a story we see cross-culturally.

This story is so well-done. Its production is top notch, and the acting is obviously from the heart. It conveys the pain and hurt that is felt by every gay kid who has been abused by their families for the ‘right’ reasons.

This short film will deeply and profoundly affect you. If you do not weep at its ending, you again are not human.

Century Egg

A man returns ‘home’ really not sure why only to meet a stranger who helps him – 2024 – Taiwan

A remarkable story about a young man returning to Taiwan, perhaps at a time that he should not have. Yet, he feels compelled to do so. While wondering the streets that somehow feel familiar and yet not, he meets a man on a park bench that begins to ask him a lot of questions. Daniel (Justin Chien) seems lost and deeply reflective in his thoughts. Xiao An (Chien-Ho Wu) knows enough English while Daniel understands enough Chinese. Somehow the two find a connection and more consequentially an understanding.

The story is fervently deep, immensely reflective, and contemplative about life and death. You decide whether Xiao An leads Daniel to where he needed to be as someone very important to him or is it merely chance or happenstance?

The acting and production of this short film is pure sublimity. I do not often get to use the term brilliant – but that is what this small production is. I became so vested in the story, I felt everything. It is all encompassing. I cried. I felt Daniel’s connections. I understood his need to go back. All of it is there for us for the taking. Please avail yourself of this short masterpiece. It will affect you and remain with you long after you have watched it.

Shan & Chen

A story about a younger brother and his older straight brother when their love deepens – 2025 – China

This is an astonishing and fascinating story of two ‘brothers’. Honestly, whether they are or not is debatable as the term in China is loosely used. A meekish younger brother comes to live with his older brother. The story is told cryptically to be sure and not always consistently translated that makes logical sense in English. No matter though as you will get the gist of the story by its telling. It is obvious from the beginning that the two had some familiarity with each other. While the younger appears to be immature and almost child-like, he manages to draw out from the older brother much more than the older brother was expecting.

Both actors are astonishingly handsome with the older brother almost taking your breath away by his looks. He is mesmerizing. The two are obviously lonely and while the older brother tries desperately to deny what is happening between them and/or his younger brother’s obvious attempts to get closer to him, over the course of time, he succumbs. And we find the two beginning to relax with each other.

Even though this is a short film, it provides a lifetime of experience for the two of them. We find out so much about who these two are and quite literally what makes them tick. This is an astonishing journey of self-discovery for each of them. On different levels for each of course.

Just go with the flow while watching this film. It may not always consistently translate well, but you will understand its meaning and direction. Simply enjoy their journey together.

Why Do We Have To Hide It?

He wants to keep our relationship a secret – 2025 – Japan

A bit of an unusual short snippet from Japan about a secret relationship between two high school students. One is the most popular boy in school while the other thinks of himself as a loser. Keita thinks of himself as less than worthy of Rikuu.

Surprisingly for being so short, it tackles a lot of adolescent issues with sensitivity and compassion. It shows rather well the complexities of trying to navigate a relationship especially a gay one. Keita would like to be more open about it, but Rikuu is hesitant which causes Keita to think it is because of him. If he was dating someone cooler and someone right out of a BL manga, he would be ok with their relationship. Instead, Keita is plain and gloomy. To add to their issues, Rikuu’s old girlfriend tries to reinitiate their former connection.

But it turns out that Rikuu simply does not want to tell others because he does not want to ruin what they have. Even his mother begins to realize that Rikuu’s relationship with Keita is more than just a friendship and is more than willing to accept her son for who he is.

This is just a nice story with not a wasted moment of storytelling. It is entertaining as well as thought-provoking. While I understood its intent, I wish it had taken one step further and actually showed the kiss. It is time to stop with sophomoric attitudes and prepubescent nonsense when it comes to human connections. It is simply a kiss; not sex. Get over it. The world will not end with a simple kiss between two high school boys who are obviously in love with each other.

Bulldog

An escape by masculinity for two young men to comfort each other – 2023 – Australia

Obviously, a small town with narrow-minded views and traditional concepts rule the mindset. Football is everything. Toxic masculinity is also abound and part of the culture and customs and one of the rules of this sport. Two players seem to have an affinity for one another. Charlie (Connor Pullinger) and Jack (Luke Furlan) are members of the same team. Charlie appears to be a bit more removed from the team and the sport than does Jack.

One day after practice, they go to the beach and decide to romp around in the ocean. Getting playful in the ocean, Jack suddenly grabs Charlie and kisses him.

This is a story with no answers; only questions. We know nothing about their relationship before and certainly after this incident, it becomes one buried and hidden. Only occasionally resurfaced by the two of them when they are alone in the ocean. Until one day, they are spotted…

As is typical in these scenarios, feelings become hidden, lost, buried and only remembered in obscure and intangible ways. Mainly in overt masculine formats that only the two of them would or could understand the meaning behind their physical contacts. What appears to be hits by football to others around them is their way of staying intimate. Sad, but better to feel him than not be able to touch him at all. I understood.

When your world is completely shaped by where you are and who you are with no way to ever, ever change any of that, you touch the one you want in a way that is acceptable. Until and if they day comes that maybe that could change…

Before and After

A naïve junior confesses his feelings to his senior – 2025 – Japan

The story begins innocuously. The junior is working out and notices that his senior is exceptionally tense from breaking up with his girlfriend. They talk for a while and finally, the junior spills out that he has feelings for his senior. Romantic feelings. The senior, rather than recognizing the source of the exchange, only thinks of himself and how negative this was to him. When asked if he knew why his girlfriend broke up with him, he shakes his head no. It turns out that he hit his girlfriend and he likes and enjoys hitting his girlfriends and if they became lovers, he would hit him too. Would he be ok with that? The junior, foolishly and in the heat of the moment, says he is all right with all of that just as long as he could love him. Not fully understanding or realizing what he has agreed to. He had not thought with his intellectual head; only with his pleasurable one.

What we silently see next is the junior walking the streets with a suitcase, all alone, sitting at a bus stop, crying. No doubt having learned a painful lesson in life that abuse is never all right, acceptable, or something tolerable. He is yet another victim of assault, the extent we shall never fully know but no doubt it had been considerable.

Life when you are gay is painful in the best of times and made more difficult when you feel isolated, alone, and unwanted and now ashamed. And made more vulnerable because you will put up with anything to feel desired. This no doubt has happened more times than we can count in some form or another. In all kinds of society.

This is the other side of the coin to a BL.

Unraveled

A young man’s going away party with a time-looping twist – 2025 – United States

A rather caustic young gay man is having a ‘going-away’ party that his friends are having for him. Seth (Seth Peterson) is scared. Unsure of the move across country and his anxiety is turning off his friends during his farewell party. However, when he escapes to rest, he wakes up re-living the party again. No matter how hard he tries to tell others, no one believes him. Each time he reawakes, he attempts a new tactic to see if the results will change. Nothing seems to change. While he is looping in the same moment, like Groundhog Day, and tries on different personality traits and approaches, everything remains the same. Gradually he senses that he cannot and therefore should not live within an imaginary world. He must be true to himself. And that version of himself is different to different people. He is and does present himself differently to others. Perhaps now seeing that, he will no longer be afraid to really be himself.

This is a disorienting short film. One which forces us to confront our fears about second guessing whether we made the right decision. If we could relive moments in our lives to help us decide again, would we? We might just realize that even if we could, the inevitable outcome is the same. Life perseveres and we simply need to move on.

This is a well-acted short snippet that gives us the illusion for wondering what we would do if we could relive moments like that and try different cathartic methods to help finally move on from who we once were. This is just an interesting and intriguing story. Can we really change who we are?

We, Unfinished

A young man grieves a profound loss only to take comfort in an older man – 2025 – Japan

A dark brooding short film full of pain and heartache. I am not sure the emotional scars from such events can ever be fully recovered from. Honestly, little is known about the characters except that they live in horrible unhappiness from loss. While we know nothing about Sho, we know that he has lost the love of his life and now his life is empty. Sho is handsome with a piercing stare and while stand-offish, still manages to draw people to him. By some fate or some weird destiny, he meets an older guy who falls in love with him, almost instantly. This guy is full of secrets as well. Married. Yet, he too like a moth drawn to a flame cannot keep away from Sho. This is their sad story of love. Somehow the two of them found each other.

Both now because of their bond have lost so much.  There is nothing left for them except the love they have for each other. Is it enough? We shall never know their outcome anymore than they will. All they can now do is live each day as it comes.

In essence, this is really a story of courage, although it may not seem so. Courage for each to move on and be themselves in a society and culture that does not want them to be happy, together, or in love. Their road will be very difficult, if not impossible. We have just witnessed just a small slice of it.

Sadly, I do not think this story is an uncommon one. I think it plays out in one form or another, many times over. Until all of us have equal value, rights, and privileges, none of us will.

Never Fair

An old friendship is rekindled in a new way – 2025 – South Korea

This works if you do not think about it for very long. In all my years of watching BLs, Koreans do seem to have a cloud that naturally hangs over them, preventing them from having fun. And when they do, it mainly centers around drinking, which of course they pretend to never remember what they did but their inner child and/or frustrated self comes out. This is another prime example of that.

There is something underlyingly creepy about this short series. On Yu (Yoo Jin Seok) allows his childhood friend to live with him while he looks for work in Seoul. His friend, Ji Woo (Lee Su Hyeok) had been friends when they were much younger. On Yu begins to develop a set of odd and restrictive rules for Ji Woo to follow while he lives there, all in an attempt to cover up his jealousy of a friendship that Ji Woo developed with his boss, Lee Do Han (Choi Wook) of a coffee shop where he works part time.

This is yet again another example of odd behaviors being used to cover up truer feelings rather than simply being open and talking about it. It simply defies logic here what lengths individuals go through to convey their feelings without using the direct route. This seems to be a rather cultural tool used over and over again and is particularly strong with Korean gay relationships. Or at least it appears that way.

The protagonists are astonishingly handsome and have surprisingly good screen chemistry. But the story left me uncomfortable and feeling as if one (On Yu) is an abuser and one is a victim (Ji Woo). Or at the very least, there is no sense that they are thought of as being equals.

I got no happy sentiments or warm fuzzies from watching this short series.

Perhaps you might feel different..

A Pair

Drifted apart friends reconnect but only for a brief and painful moment – 2025 –United States

Lucas (Bran Sullivan) has been gone for a while. We know nothing about him except that his parents sent him away to a Catholic school. We know even less about his friend Finn (Djanne Martinez), whom he meets accidentally as he exits the bus. We sense, however, at one time that they were close, perhaps even in ‘love’. But Lucas disappeared. Without a word.

When reconnecting again, the old feelings suddenly rush back, perhaps too strongly and some things were said and done that maybe needed more time to process. Why? Because Finn moved on. Lucas did not.

When Finn realized what just happened, he emphatically and firmly tells Lucas to never contact him again, walking away without looking back. Leaving Lucas, alone, a crumbled mess. It was obvious that Finn meant something to Lucas. We are left with Finn telling someone on the phone that he is on his way…

This is a brilliant and outstanding snippet of life where serendipitous reunions, as often is the case, unexpectedly have consequences. It will leave you feeling sad and maybe even disheartened. This is a heart wrenching video that shows both the pain and delight of youth. The awkwardness and yet the resilience. My belief is one day, Finn will regret using the word ‘never’ the way he did to his love, Lucas. Maybe not now. But someday. And it will bring him tears and a sense of shame and regret. Perhaps with a tinge of thought, “If only I could have said that better….”

For the young actors, they portrayed astonishing strong emotions and a deep connection to their characters. The cinematography of this short film is outstanding.

This is truly a must-see. It is genuinely and painfully emotive.