Rob Munday
With the Oscars taking up a lot of our focus in April – we published a recap of this year’s short film winners, a playlist of the best Oscar-winning short films online and even updated our Ten Best Short Films on Netflix article with a few Oscar contenders/winners – we still managed to feature 20 shorts on our platform throughout the 30-days of the month. Alongside our ongoing short film coverage (87 titles so far in 2021) and that coverage of awards season, we also brought you news of a star-studded PSA from S/W alum Spencer Susser (I Love Sarah Jane) and a new short from Sony Animation franchise Hotel Transylvania.
Team Favourites
In our April film coverage, we featured our first-ever short from the United Arab Emirates, discussed non-binary representations and heard the story of the man who should have become the first African American astronaut. The trio of films picked by the S/W team as our Best of the Month all tackle very different subjects but are united by the haunting impact they’re bound to have on all who view them. It’s not the most lighthearted playlist to watch, but you won’t forget these shorts quickly:
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Tantrums by Zander Coté
Sparse and chilling, Tantrums might favor atmosphere over storytelling depth, but it’s the rare short film that perfectly showcases a filmmaker’s voice in exciting ways – Ivan Kander.
Backpedal by Dani Pearce
More like a visual poem than a narrative film, it’s fascinating how many different subjects the film touches upon, leaving the viewer to fill out the blank spaces through its experimental storytelling, all within such a short runtime – Georg Csarmann
MAKR by Hana Kazim
Demonic possession has become a staple of the horror narrative for decades now, but Hana Kazim’s atmospheric short MAKR breathes new life into the exorcism storyline by tackling questions of faith and gender roles in the Middle East – Rob Munday
Most Viewed
Exam by Sonia K. Hadad
With Hunt Beaty’s Pay Pig proving our most popular upload on YouTube in April, here on our website it was Sonia K. Hadad’s thrilling tale of girl having to hide drugs in a strict Iranian school that was our most-watched pick of the month. A tense, layered short which provided hugely popular on the festival circuit, it’s easy to see why this one drew so many viewers.
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