Everybody loves the cinema, the glitz, the glamour and the beauty. Movies often transport us to worlds unimaginable, make us cry with emotional stories that reflect the variety of human nature and make us laugh with light-hearted creatures that delight our need for a fantastical escape.
Often when you ask people about their favorite movie, they are quick to mention blockbusters and feature-length films like Pulp Fiction or The Fast and The Furious. But, I, like so many others, have favorite films that are actually short films. Short films are usually used to demonstrate the creative ability of up and coming directors who want to showcase their talent and creativity to their peers or film studios. But, they stand on their own as full-fledged movies with beautiful stories and characters. Here is my list of top ten underrated short films.
1. Doubles With Slight Pepper (2014) by Ian Harnarine
Here we catch a glimpse of the Indian community of Trinidad and its social and cultural dynamics through the eyes of a family and their son.
2. Dawn (2014) by Rose Mcgowan
In Rose McGowan’s directorial debut, she features a coming-of-age story about a young girl and a love that lights her on fire. Its available on YouTube and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
3. La Noche Buena (2015) by Alex Mallis
This short tackles and explores how the main character attempts to reconcile and understand his Cuban heritage after living his entire life in the US.
Link: La Noche Buena on Vimeo
4. Dreaming Rivers (1988) by Martine Antille of The Sankofa Collective
This dreamy and complex short film talks about the family dynamics of the Caribbean diaspora in England. It’s an amazing and sad story about death, race and the relationships between mother and her family.
5. Quadrangle (2016) by Amy Grappell
This short film explores the lives of two run of the mill couples who explore their sexuality through the dynamics of partner swapping and group marriage in the 70’s. For those who are interested in the unconventional, its available at shortoftheweek.com.
Link: Quadrangle — A Short Film by Amy Grappell on Vimeo
6. Papa Machete (2016) by Jonathan David Kane
This short film explores how Haitian slaves won their freedom and created their own country thanks to a martial art they created around their machetes. It’s an incredible short documentary and its available on shortoftheweek.com.
Link: Papa Machete by Jonathan David Kane | Documentary Short Film
7. What Men Fear The Most (2016) by Elliot Barnes Worrel
It’s a heartbreaking film about the effects and ramifications of toxic masculinity in young men and how it affects them from forming healthy relationships with others. It’s done in a spoken word format, and it’s available on YouTube.
8. When The Fat Girl Gets Skinny (2017) by Blythe Baird & directed by Abby Thompson
It’s a very sweet, tragic spoken word about the trial and tribulations about being a fat woman and the body dysmorphia (hate of your own body) that comes with it and of course the huge pressure of conforming to impossible beauty standards. Not for the faint of heart.
9. The Hot Seat (2017) by Anna Kerrigan
A coming of age short film that tackles female sexuality without the male gaze or in a negative manner. It’s funny, raunchy and light-hearted. It’s available on ShortoftheWeek.com.
Link: Hot Seat by Anna Kerrigan | Dramedy Short Film
10. Logorama (2017) by François Alaux
A thrilling short film featuring popular logos as real-life people living in a City with their own trials and tribulations. Quite an amazing trip and well worth seeing it! It’s available on shortoftheweek.com.
Link: Logorama