Over the years many voices in the industry have grown to dismiss the legitimacy, purpose, and well, the need for short films, and we at Homegrown strongly disagree. Time and again short films have proved to be an effective medium for narration of issues and touch points that you wouldn’t see ‘big Bollywood’ names starring. While they may seem trivial on the larger scale, short films have increasingly gained an audience in recent years as the power of the internet has fortified itself, drawing in larger audiences.
We see more and more filmmakers moving to tell engaging stories in almost a quarter of the time, as well as budget. Two-three hour films are still a preferred medium for many, but in today’s fast-paced world with shorter attention spans, short films seem ideal. And don’t be misguided, a shorter film doesn’t make the filmmaking process that much easier. Imagine having an entire story to tell in under 8-10 minutes, and delivering it beautifully, leaving viewers with a sense of satisfaction than even big budget blockbusters fail to achieve.
So the next time you’re getting fried at work and finally sit down for your lunch break (or poop break), or you’re sitting on the train heading home and looking to kill time, or you’re just too damn lazy to put on pants and get off your bed - pop open your laptop/smartphones/ipads/whatever fancy gadget you have and head on to any of these online channels for some artistic mental stimulation with the best the Indian film industry has to offer. WIth an array of genres and durations to choose from, there’s definitely something for everyone.
I. FilmsShort
FILMSshort offers a relatively smaller selection of Indian films in particular, but an array of International winners from various nations of famous competitions and festivals, as well as a selection of their favourites from their own run short film competitions.
HG Loves: Their selection of ‘Short shorts,’ films under five minutes for those on the go and in need of “quick gratification.”
Mobile-friendly: Yes, videos sourced from YouTube.
Free To Watch: Yes.
II. Flickero
Other than serving as a platform for passionate innovators in the cinematic field to showcase their work.
With films crossing genres of Action, Comedy, Drama and Romance, to name a few, language is no barrier here as each genre has a large selection of films in various languages including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and English.
HG Loves: Flickero stands out on this list with their option for users to not only upload their own films, but also create a profile of their work which allows viewers as well as agents, producers, directors and casting managers to reach out to them directly - be it a casual exchange and feedback or a possibility of potential job opportunities.
Mobile-friendly: Yes, with YouTube links.
Free To Watch: Yes
III. Indian Short Movies
“I love watching movies. Almost every weekend I visit to theatre to watch new release. Once I found a good short film online directed by Anurag Kashyap and then started searching for more. Soon I found many, but in this process I watched lots of crap too. The challenge was to identify good movies. That’s how this website Indian Short Movies came in existence,” writes the founder of the website, and his endeavour to curate the best the industry has to offer resulted in this carefully structured site for the viewers ease and comfort.
Here you will find films categorised on the basis of language and genre, but also separate categories for people looking for the work of a particular director, like Anurag Kashyap and Bahaish Kapoor, or all the work of critically acclaimed actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. What we love is the selection of of films in not just different Indian languages but also Silent films that we rarely get to hear about or watch.
IV. LargeShortFilms
Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films (LSF) is perhaps India’s most celebrated and prestigious platform for short films showcasing the work of some of the country’s most renowned directors and actors. Work in conjunction with the Mumbai Film Festival, the winner of their competitions gets their film premiered at the festival as well as opportunities to work with some of the country’s best directors in person.
HG Loves: Budding filmmakers can also submit their work to LSF for a chance to be featured as ‘Short Of The Week’ on their site, and it’s not just the winner that is given the platform but all previous selections are continued to be featured on the site.
Mobile-friendly: Yes, with Youtube channel.
Free To Watch: Yes
V. Pocket Films
Pocket Films is perhaps of the largest and most popular platforms for Indian short films on the internet. With a library of over 2,400 videos, and it’s only growing, Pocket Films offers films of all durations, genres and languages that you can imagine.
“Our platforms cater to this growing demand by making alternate content available for instant consumption. At the other end, we fuel the creativity of alternate content creators by providing them with exposure, viewership and revenue share opportunities,” the organisation state on their website.
The Pocket Films competitions offer prospective submitters the chance to get an internship with reputed filmmakers, a trip to international film festivals, maybe even having their film entered for screening and international competitions, professional filmmaking equipment and cash prizes.
HG Loves: The easy access to a variety of films depending on the viewer’s mood across multiple platforms including Youtube, Dailymotion, Yahoo, and now, even their own Pocket Films App for HD short films and documentaries compatible with iPhone, iPad and iTouch free of cost.
Mobile-friendly: Yes would be an understatement.
Free To Watch: Absolutely!
VI. Shotz7
Shotz7 is an independent platform that serves all your film-watching needs. Now, navigation on this site isn’t the easiest with no category or genre pages or menus, but their diverse range of films makes up for it. It’s only when you go to the ‘Archive Shotz’ section at the bottom of the page do you get navigation options of language, genre, and you can even select any director whose work you may be searching for.
This platform allows submissions and if selected you get to be the Shot In Focus.
HG Love: Scrolling through the page you’ll find endless options when it comes to the work of budding filmmakers from across the country that are being given a chance to showcase their talent on the same level and with equal importance as that of an established director.
Mobile-friendly: Yes, with a Youtube channel and even an Android App for films on the go.
Free To Watch: There are two separate sections, one with free films and the second is paid. You can even subscribe for different packs at different, very reasonable prices.
VII. Terribly Tiny Talkies
Part of the ever-popular Terribly Tiny Tales platform, Terribly Tiny Talkies (TTT) is an eclectic mix of five minute films, each surrounding a key theme. TTT has so far released ‘three season,’ groups of short films, each following a central idea - Mother, Love and India, celebration Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Independence Day.
TTT’s short films are as entertaining as they are thought-provoking, each tugging at strings of emotions. You get to see familiar famouses and newcomers in the same feature, some light-hearted and others heartrending. These have become some of our favourite short films from our favourite short storytellers.
HG Loves: The categorisation of films based on the theme takes you on a journey through multiple genres while maintaining a sense of the larger picture.
Mobile-friendly: Yes
Free To Watch: Absolutely, and we eagerly await their work to come.