What is love? Placed into a variety of pressured situations, the characters in these short films still manage to find their humanity, their heart, and their compassion—exposing their bravery. If only we all had their courage! Drama, romance, coming-of-age, and of course musical romance can be found here, exploring exactly what tugs on our heartstrings.

Run Time: 91 min

Rating: M - Offensive language.

Friday is Mushroom Soup
Drama, 17m, United Kingdom
In an impossibly allocated 15 minutes, a burnt-out home carer rushes to meet all the needs of her favourite cranky client.
Dir/Prod: Arnold T Rice
Writ/Prod: Katy Trevor
Prod: Oscar Hewitt, Gus Herbert-Müller

Best Practice
Drama, 14m, Denmark
When a young locksmith is called to aid the authorities with a forced removal, he faces a dilemma: is he enabling a harmful situation?
Dir/Writ/Prod: Martin Strange-Hansen
Prod: Per Ankjær

Kiloran Bay
Musical, 13m, United Kingdom
Emmy Award winner Alan Cumming stars as a gay man who returns to Scotland with his partner after years away to attend a wedding celebration, where he confronts long-buried memories from his past.
Dir/Writ: Michael Bruce
Prod: Rebecca Wolff, David Harwood, Beth Levison

Soleil Pâle (Pale Sun)
Drama, 16m, France
On a beach in summer, 12-year-old Abel is ashamed of his father’s body, marked by cancer.
Dir/Writ: Adrian Moyse Dullin
Dir: Jawahine Zentar
Writ: Emma Benestan
Prod: Lucas Tothe, Jessica Arfuso

Breakfast for Dinner
Drama, 10m, NZ
Mac and Jordyn broke up. Kind of. Is it time to let go this time?
Dir/Writ: Tū Māia Curtis
Dir/Writ/Prod: Te Waiarangi Ratana

Chemistry - Tyrun
Music Video, 4m, NZ
Music video for the song Chemistry by Tyrun. When Tyrun stumbles across a group of feuding friends, he does what comes naturally: hits them with his chemistry.
Dir: Gwen Lin
Prod: Tommo Jiang

Cheers Camden
Coming of Age, 11m, United Kingdom
Theo has a secret he’s never shared with his laddish football mates. On his way to their party, he steps into a lift wearing a dress and heels.
Dir/Writ: Joshua Black
Prod: Katie Callander, Esmeralda Maloufi, Isaac Money

Contact the host of Heartstrings - Show Me Shorts Film Festival