Drama
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- DRAMA SHORT FILMS
Drama short films are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. A dramatic film shows us human beings at their best, their worst, and everything in-between.
Scout is delighted to share the official selection for this category.
3 Epistolary Films by Collective Film (high school students)
(France)
Produced By Collective Film (high school students)
Produced By Collective Film (high school students)
NOMINEE
Aurélien, Adama, Liza. 3 short letters written and filmed by the students of a French high school. Collective creation by the 10th-grade students of La Guerche-de-Bretagne (France). It's their first step into filmmaking, from writing to editing, accompanied by the director Paul Marques Duarte. Their group includes young refugees and disabled students.
Age Category: 18 and Under
A New Dawn by Josh Riemer
(United States)
Produced By Josh Riemer
Produced By Josh Riemer
Quarantined in his home, a man grapples with his guilt.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Absence and Longing by Mikkel Warrer
(Denmark)
Produced By Mikkel Warrer
Produced By Mikkel Warrer
In an analog world, a boy named William lives alone with his father. He finds
his diseased mom’s camera and with that a whole new world opens before
his eyes. A world full of memories his grieving dad is trying to forget.
Age Category: 19-24
Screening Date:
Bewilderment by Guo Ruiting
(China)
Produced By Zhou Yang
Produced By Zhou Yang
NOMINEE
A middle-aged man rescues a boy who was running away late at night and brought the boy back to his home to answer some questions.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Boy on the Moon by Sam Friedman, and Jake Lubin
(United States)
Produced By Sam Friedman, and Jake Lubin
Produced By Sam Friedman, and Jake Lubin
After a long night of partying and a narrow escape from a risky encounter, Ollie and Demsky come to terms with a tragedy from their past.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Building Bridges by Masai Matthews, and Hank Groat
(United States)
Produced By Masai Matthews
Produced By Masai Matthews
A courageous six-year-old African American girl takes on a segregated all-white elementary school in the south during the early 60’s.
Age Category: 19-24
Cameron by Lily Barfield
(United States)
Cameron is a college student whose life is greatly affected by his debilitating anxiety disorder.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Cherry Bomb by Carolyn Knapp
(United States)
Produced By Kendall Huff, and Liv Coron
Produced By Kendall Huff, and Liv Coron
NOMINEE
This queer coming of age short film depicts the feeling of having to prove your own sexuality after coming out in high school. When seventeen year old Georgie ditches her younger sister Violet for a party in an attempt to save her relationship, we find that Violet won't give up on a fun night with Georgie that easily.
Age Category: 19 to 24
Dear Athens by Raghavi Agarwal, and Sophia Bassoukou, and
(Greece)
Produced By Raghavi Agarwal
Produced By Raghavi Agarwal
NOMINEE
Ira, a traveller to the land of gods, meets her alter ego, Ares. She writes a letter narrating her experiences in the city of Athens as though a reflection of her soul, upon having met with her angels and demons.
Age Category: 19 to 24
Denial by George Larman
(United Kingdom)
Produced By George Larman
Produced By George Larman
Living alone, an elderly lady's frustration grows as she lives in an endless cycle of loneliness which turns to anger, shutting off her last chance of hope.
Age Category: 19-24
Dirty Dirty by Vesyee, and Yee Teng
(Malaysia)
Produced By Vesyee
Produced By Vesyee
NOMINEE
A mother wants to protect her daughter from a superstitious danger.
Age Category: 19 to 24
Distance Between by Isa Phillips, and Dena Roland
(United States)
Produced By T.S.
Produced By T.S.
Based on the social observations of a young girl, living in the United States during the year 2020.
Age Category: Middle School - 10 Years Old
Elementary Wake Up by Saya Luke
(United States)
Produced By Saya Luke
Produced By Saya Luke
When a young woman, trying to find her purpose, moves from Chicago to the west coast, she is faced with the consequences that pride brings.
Age Category: 18 and Under
EQUI LIBRE by Charlotte Vercruysse, and Raoul Groothuizen
(Belgium)
A young circus group travels in caravans from town to town to give shows. Miriam and Emile are a couple who have an acrobatic act together. Leon is the clown, who in the story of the show has a crush on the female acrobat Miriam. After traveling together for a long time, the show influences the reality of the artists behind the scenes.
Age Category: 19-24
Exposed by Shuli Huang
(United States)
Produced By Shuli Huang
Produced By Shuli Huang
A young boy taking pictures in the city gets a glimpse into an adult world.
Age Category: 19-24
For Kate by Claire Imler, and Amadea Tanner
(United States)
Produced By Jessica Stossel
Produced By Jessica Stossel
Living in a dysfunctional home, Kate finds comfort in playing piano with her caring neighbor, Alan. However, when she needs him most, he is taken away from her.
Age Category: 19-24
Given by Muhammad Mikdad
(Indonesia)
Produced By Zaid Alfariz
Produced By Zaid Alfariz
A street sweeper's dreams are held back by his circumstances. But he believes every step has meaning.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Goodbye again by Pau Verdalet
(Mexico)
Produced By Pau Verdalet
Produced By Pau Verdalet
Helen lives with her son Bruno, but Bruno doesn't behave like a normal kid. She will have to overcome the mourning crisis to withstand reality.
Age Category: 19-24
Grossophobia by Youth Municipal Council of Tarnos, France
(France)
Produced By Aurélien Combelles
Produced By Aurélien Combelles
Mélissa Corré is a child who is rejected and isolated from other students, mocked and discriminated against because of her weight. The adults around her minimize the problem or make her feel that she is somehow responsible for her situation.
Age Category: 18 and Under, 19-24
It's Not What It Looks Like by Marina Malysh
(Russian Federation)
Produced By Marina Malysh
Produced By Marina Malysh
NOMINEE
A boy is locked between the real and imaginary worlds. But where does one end and the other one begin? Or is it not what it looks like?
Age Category: 18 and Under
Kite Tail by Ömer Güzel, and Barış Güzel
(Turkey)
Produced By Servet Güzel
Produced By Servet Güzel
A short movie about childhood and its beautiful memories.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Late Bloomer by Lim Jing, Jonathan Chow, and Camile Pasquier
(Singapore)
Having long sidelined her interest in photography, 75-year-old Ee
King is now consumed with mischievous passion for it in old age.
Age Category: 19-24
Le Prince Oublié by Chloe Aguirre, and Amadea Tanner
(United States)
Produced By Hailey Burns
Produced By Hailey Burns
Through a series of time and fate, a young con artist is faced with the decision of whether or not to preserve the legacy of motion picture and its original inventor.
Age Category: 19-24
Leonidas and the Fish by Alexander Machlouzarides-Shalit, and Isaac Fisher
(Cyprus)
Produced By Alexander Machlouzarides-Shalit, and Natalia Der Partogh
Produced By Alexander Machlouzarides-Shalit, and Natalia Der Partogh
A Cypriot boy's perception of life changes when he catches a big fish.
Age Category: 19-24
Lift Off by Max Roach
(United States)
Produced By Max Roach, and Joe Schofield
Produced By Max Roach, and Joe Schofield
Space travel was bound to happen but when Samuel discovers what this means for him, it changes his view of exploration and what the future means for him.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Lighter by Elia Biondi, and Georgios Petrou
(Norway)
Stian's mom goes missing and fails to show up for her weekly check-in with the police. In the search for his mother, Stian is forced to face himself and his difficult past.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Lockdown 28 by VESYEE
(Malaysia)
Produced By VESYEE
Produced By VESYEE
A young boy, who’s hopping to get out from his house that has been “lockdown” for 14 days by the Malaysian government during the COVID-19 Movement Control Order.
Age Category: 19-24
Motel 32 by Landon Coats
(United States)
(HORROR - Warning, this film contains graphic violence, torture and gore.)
Produced By Landon Coats, and Lisset Mendoza
Produced By Landon Coats, and Lisset Mendoza
It's the late 1970s, gas costs are high, homelessness is on a rise, and serial killers run rampant. Put in a life or death situation, Kenny must battle with physical and internal struggles.
Age Category: 19 to 24
Nour by Chadha Hichri
(Tunisia)
Produced By Chadha Hichri
Produced By Chadha Hichri
Nour is a dreamer, a girl whose life is controlled by her mother. with that concern, she chooses to create a perfect world in her imagination and to hide in it. One day a horrible event that happens in her country shakes up her life.
Age Category: 19-24
Our Old Den by Max Kirk
(United Kingdom)
Produced By Jenny Wall, and Samantha Gruskin
Produced By Jenny Wall, and Samantha Gruskin
Three friends on the brink of adulthood reunite in the place they grew up together. Returning for the last day of summer, they revisit old haunts, where fragments of their past play out around them.
Age Category: 19-24
Outgrowing My Shoes by Grace Conley, and Kaya Trefz
(United States)
Produced By Grace Conley, and Kaya Trefz
Produced By Grace Conley, and Kaya Trefz
A series of vignettes that explore the coming of age story of a young woman from Philadelphia.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Positiv by Arne Berner, and Hanno Karl Mertin
(Germany)
Produced By Hanno Karl Mertin
Produced By Hanno Karl Mertin
When a young woman is faced with an unwanted pregnancy, she has to decide to keep the child or not.
Age Category: 19-24
Room of a Dying Bird by Ahmed Samir
(Egypt)
Produced By Ahmed Samir, and Nahla Mohamed
Produced By Ahmed Samir, and Nahla Mohamed
NOMINEE
After stopping chemotherapy, Dahlia struggles to tell her children about her decision and her inevitable fate. She brings Youssef, an old friend, to convince her children that she is resuming her sessions. Youssef's unpredictable ways of treatment spark an intimate friendship with Dahlia that changes his perspective on life.
Age Category: 19 to 24
Shivanum-mohiniyum by Ramakaushalyan Ramakrishnan
(India)
Produced By Ramakaushalyan Ramakrishnan
Produced By Ramakaushalyan Ramakrishnan
This film is about 2 boys who have questions about freedom, and religious identities in their culture. The answers to their questions are later discovered while they explore religion and toxic masculinity in their youth.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Short Life, Long Gun by Liu Haotian
(China)
Produced By Liu Haotian
Produced By Liu Haotian
A gang of five young people, was plotting to rob a bank, but the plan unravels as ideas are contradicted and suspicion sets in.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Sketch by Kim Dohyun
(Republic of Korea)
Produced By Lee Taeyang
Produced By Lee Taeyang
Young-min, who has a dream of being an artist, always feels awkward with his sister Ji-eun. The conflict between the two grows as time goes by. COVID prevented them from going to school, and eventually left them alone at home.
Age Category: 18 and Under
"Stay Maybe?" / We Think We Made A Film by Soham Kundu
(United Kingdom)
Produced By Xuanyi Wei
Produced By Xuanyi Wei
This film follows a film crew trying to shoot a film without prep, on zero budget, because they just want to make a film. Maybe the film they're making is about a couple struggling to maintain their failing and flailing relationship.
Age Category: 19-24
Summer and June by David J Redman, and Andrea Pavlovic
(Canada)
Produced By Andrea Pavlovic, Madison Graves, David J Redman, and Matt Tipold
Produced By Andrea Pavlovic, Madison Graves, David J Redman, and Matt Tipold
The final day of summer forces two best friends to grapple with the unknown future of their relationship while trying to stay in the present moment.
Age Category: 19-24
The Catfish Club by Jack Sharkey, Qi Lin, Evan Pedley, Xach Hill, Henri Trigo, Leif Clayton
(United Kingdom)
NOMINEE
3 mysterious figures compete in a high-stakes heist in this 1920's drama; it's anyone's game at The Catfish Club.
A film made by 16-19yr old first-time filmmakers as part of the BFI Film Academy delivered by Signal Film and Media.
Age Category: 18 and Under
The Choice by Amitai Kasher
(Israel)
Produced By Mia Ganor
Produced By Mia Ganor
Ofri is constantly abused by her mother’s boyfriend (Avi), Ofri talks with her friend Nimrod about Avi and then decides to take revenge on him
Ofri has a choice to make.
Age Category: 18 and Under
The Color In Grief by Antreise Lacey
(United States)
Produced By Antreise Lacey, Raven Cordice, and Frances Shirley
Produced By Antreise Lacey, Raven Cordice, and Frances Shirley
Amiree Knight is a 20 year old African-American woman. During her therapy session with Dr. Melody Sims, Amiree must come to terms with why she is there.
Age Category: 19-24
The Next One by Dominik György, and Pavlína Vítková
(Czech Republic)
Produced By Dominik György
Produced By Dominik György
NOMINEE
The place is Czechoslovakia, the year 1989. When she enters an abortion clinic, a lost, troubled young girl realizes that she has forgotten to bring socks, without which her gynecologist and nurses will not perform the procedure. In 1957 There was a law on the legalization of induced abortions in Czechoslovakia. Contraception was unavailable. There were abortion or so-called ethics commissions.
Age Category: 19 to 24
The truth of my life by Bardia Hashemi
(Islamic Republic of Iran)
This is the story of a student who is in trouble and deals with lots of challenges in his life. The teacher punishes him without knowing anything about his life. The teacher finds out the boy’s struggles only when…
Age Category: Middle School - 12 Years Old
The Walk Home by Kendra Brown
(United States)
Produced By Yaneirie Rondon
Produced By Yaneirie Rondon
NOMINEE
As his daughter gets older, a father must come to terms with letting her walk home alone after school.
Age Category: 19 to 24
Timothee by Godwin Gaza Josiah, and Raymond Yusuff
(Nigeria)
Produced By The Critics
Produced By The Critics
Timothee is a story of a humanoid boy trying to navigate life in the northern part of Nigeria as he finds himself in a series of misfortunate events that come as a result of his past.
Age Category: 19-24
To The One I Miss by Hee Won Lee
(Republic of Korea)
Produced By Min Hye Kim
Produced By Min Hye Kim
NOMINEE
Art student Arin cannot forget her dead friend Junho and concentrate on the dance competition. Arin wants closure and opens an album containing memories with Jun-ho, who has been locked up in a drawer.
Age Category: 18 and Under
Trepidation by Dev Stafford, and Lindita Kulla
(United States)
TRIGGER WARNING: this film includes graphic visual references to topics such as gun violence, violence, and anxiety.
TRIGGER WARNING: this film includes graphic visual references to topics such as gun violence, violence, and anxiety.
NOMINEE
"Trepidation" follows a young girl as her paranoia and anxiety become overwhelming, constantly in fear of having to experience a mass shooting firsthand.
Age Category: 19 to 24
When You Were Young, You Walked Where You Wanted by Olga Bejm
(Poland)
Produced By Franciszek Kostrzewa
Produced By Franciszek Kostrzewa
A young girl working in a nursing home connects with one of the apathetic patients. Her superior does not approve of that. This Film is an intimate story about a need for understanding and connection between generations.
Age Category: 19-24
Young Again by Alex Fouquet
(United States)
April 2020, New York City. The global population is asked to stay home for an unknown period of
time. It won’t stop this lonely man to escape and realize the city became a place for ghosts…
Age Category: 19-24