Guide To Every Singapore LGBT Short Film And Web Series Available On YouTube

Dear Straight People,

In Singapore, positive LGBT+ media representation is banned on mainstream media. Suffice to say, queer filmmakers in Singapore don’t receive much support or funding.

Despite Singapore’s strict media censorship laws and unsupportive environment, a handful of filmmakers have managed to overcome insurmountable challenges to produce a broad range of LGBT+ content, oftentimes burning a hole in their wallet to do so.

From short films to web series, here is the complete guide to every Singapore LGBT+ short film and web series that is available to watch for free on YouTube!

Note: We will continue updating this list as Singapore produces more shorts films and web series. Let us know if we missed any!

SHORT FILMS

1. Home Par: Short Film On Inclusiveness & Chosen Families

OVERVIEW: Written and directed by Sean Foo in his directorial debut, Home Par is a story that aims to promote inclusiveness and celebrate chosen families.

Shot in 1 day and published towards the end of 2022, Home Par boasts an openly queer cast.

PLOT: Brown, plus-sized and genderfluid, Fab crashes a private invite-only party populated by muscular gay men. Drama and hilarity ensues when Fab’s flamboyant ways rubs the ‘straight-acting’ gay men the wrong way.

2. Purple Light: Short Film On Army Inspired By True Events

OVERVIEW: Published in 2014 on media giant Viddsee, ‘Purple Light’ was one of Singapore’s first LGBT+ short films published on YouTube.

PLOT: Through Zipeng’s eyes, Purple Light strives to tell a story about how one’s existence is bigger than their sexuality, and that no form of love should bear a label. Purple light is inspired by a true account.

3. Swing: Short Film On Ex-Boyfriends

OVERVIEW: Produced in 2013 by filmmaker Leon Cheo as a school assignment, ‘Swing’ was a hit in the film festival circuit scene, scooping up a host of awards, eventually getting licensced to streaming platform Viddsee.

Fun fact: Leon would subsequently go on to produce People Like Us; Singapore’s first gay web series.

PLOT: A few weeks after Wei Long and Daniel have broken up, Daniel asks Wei Long to meet him once more.

4. Sisters 《姐妹》: A Wedding Takes An Unexpected Turn

OVERVIEW: Published in 2014 on Viddsee, Sisters 《姐妹》garnered over half a million views, making it Viddsee’s most popular LGBT short film to date.

PLOT: Things take on an unexpected turn for a groom when a cheeky relative at the wedding volunteers to take on the role of a bridesmaid.

5. I AM (Part 1): Coming-Of-Age Film On National Service

OVERVIEW: Produced by Zhi Kai on his YouTube channel ‘Kai Unclassified’, I AM (Part 1) is the first of a three part short film series that seeks to explore different parts of the LGBT+ community.

You can read about the inspiration behind this short film here.

PLOT: Two young men Shawn (Edwin Fong) and Darren (Kenny Seethoo) are serving National Service. In a casual interaction in camp, the two of them discover that they may be yearning more out of their friendship.

6. I AM (Part 2): Short Film On Discreet LGBT+ Relationship

OVERVIEW: The second part of Kai Unclassified‘s three part short film series, this installment stars trans performers Andrea Razali and Elijah Tay in their acting debuts.

PLOT: When Joie (Elijah Tay) picks Diana (Andrea Razali), a teacher in a Singapore school, up from her workplace, the kind gesture is not well-received by Diana when probing from her colleagues sparks an argument fuelled by years of tolerance in a discreet relationship.

7. I AM (Part 3): Short Film On Parents Of A Trans Child

OVERVIEW: The third part of Kai Unclassified‘s three part short film series, this final installment looks at things from the parents perspective.

PLOT: A recent discovery about 15-year-old Isaac’s behaviour leads the mother, Julie (Kavita Kaur), to decide on consulting a psychiatrist. An argument erupts with her husband David (Benedict Lin) who disagrees with her decision as he insists that his son is merely going through a phase that will pass.

8. I AM: The Gift: Two-Part Concluding Short Film

OVERVIEW: Spanning two parts, this Christmas special seeks to conclude Kai Unclassified‘s I AM series.

PLOT: Shawn (Edwin Fong) has not gotten over Darren (Kenny Seethoo) even after completing his National Service. Diana (Andrea Razali) gets caught in between David (Benedict Lin) and Julie (Kavita Kaur), who continue to disagree on how they should handle their child’s Gender Dysphoria.

9. Aqua Man: Short Film On Conversion Therapy

OVERVIEW: Written and directed by professional filmmaker Jet Ho, Aqua Man was a labour of love that took Jet one month to conceptualise, script, cast and film.

You can read about Jet Ho’s filmmaking journey here.

PLOT: Set in the 2000s, Aqua Man talks about the emotional transformation of a young boy, Junjie, and its religious dilemma of being a gay Christian individual in Singapore.

10. BDSM – Bold Sequel To Aqua Man

OVERVIEW: Two years after Aqua Man, Jet wrote and directed Boys Desire Spare Money (BDSM), a compelling continuation of Junjie’s story.

BDSM boldly explores the enduring consequences inflicted by conversion therapy on its characters. With its incorporation of chilling horror elements, BDSM is not an easy watch. But it does tackle an important issue within the LGBT community.

PLOT: BDSM follows the adventures of a young gay couple who take up an offer to perform BDSM on a mysterious male client

11. Hurt: Short-Film On Cheating In The Gay Scene

OVERVIEW: Written and directed by Kieran Chieng, ‘Hurt’ made waves when it premiered back in 2016, garnering almost half a million views.

You can read about Kieran’s filmmaking journey here.

PLOT: After receving his test results, Chris deliberates his confession to Jonathan about an unforgivable mistake. He desperately wants to be comforted by his soul mate, but is at huge risk of losing him.

12. Summerdaze: Singapore’s First BL (Boys Love) Short Film

OVERVIEW: A joint collaboration between fashion house The Authority, Telescope Productions and director Martin Hong, ‘Summerdaze’ is a short-film about young love set in the BL genre.

Although the 3 minute long short film did not have any dialogue, it managed to strike a chord with audiences, garnering over 600,000 views on YouTube.

You can read our interview with the producer here and director Martin here.

PLOT: Two best friends embark on a journey of discovery through Jeju Island in search of themselves and ultimately love.

13. Summerdaze: Christmas Together

OVERVIEW: Following the popular reception to Summerdaze, a crowdfunding trailer was produced to raise funds for a web series based on the popular short film.

Although the web series have yet to materialise, the team did put together this Christmas special to satiate the audience’s craving for more Summerdaze.

PLOT: It’s Christmas Eve on Jeju Island and the film crew sets out for some last-minute gift shopping, leaving co-stars Evan and Kai home alone. Evan finds himself in trouble for eating the log cake meant for their Christmas dinner. The boys must race against the clock to replace the log cake and decorate the Christmas tree before everyone returns home. Faced with more mishaps along the way, Evan starts to feel the spirit of Christmas with the help of Kai.

14. THE CYCLE: Short Film On Family Acceptance

OVERVIEW: Written and co-directed by Benjamin Zhang, The Cycle was produced in 2020 and published on Benjamin’s own YouTube channel.

PLOT: The Cycle follows the homecoming journey of a gay Singaporean man, who desires his father’s acceptance of his husband, their soon-to-be born son and ultimately, himself. The man reconnects with his childhood through a game of Chinese chess with his father, and satisfies a childhood desire to learn how to cycle from him. Through this journey, the man comes to a revelation about fatherhood and the cycle of life.

WEB SERIES

1. People Like Us: Singapore’s First Gay Web Series

OVERVIEW: Produced by Gayhealth.sg, People Like Us made history as Singapore’s first gay web drama series.

Spanning two seasons, the hit series even scored an Emmy nomination for Best Short-Form Series at the 48​th ​International Emmy​®​ Awards.

You can read our spoiler-free review here.

PLOT: People Like Us follows the lives of four gay men, Joel, Ridzwan, Rai, and Isaac as they navigate lust, love, and life.

2. Getaway: Singapore’s First BL Web Series

OVERVIEW: Produced by Dear Straight People, ‘Getaway’ made history as Singapore’s first gay BL web drama series.

Based on an original story from a gay creator, ‘Getaway’ sets itself apart from other BL dramas by boasting an openly gay director alongside an openly queer cast from Singapore and Thailand.

Comprising 5 episodes, ‘Getaway’ earned numerous media features and millions of views. Episode 1 of ‘Getaway’ currently has over 1.7 million views, making it Singapore’s most popular LGBT film on YouTube to date.

Getaway also scooped up a slew of awards at the World Film Carnival, and even earned a nomination for ‘Content Of The Year’ at The Pinwheels, organised by Singapore’s national broadcaster.

PLOT: After his coming out goes horribly wrong, Singaporean Sam jets off to Bangkok to search for his exiled gay uncle, where he stumbles upon Top, a hopeless Thai romantic unlucky in love.

3. Straight Best Friend: First BL Series Scripted By ChatGPT

OVERVIEW: While ChatGPT scripted this series, the writer and director had to significantly revamp the story as AI just isn’t capable of creating a compelling story. This highlights the irreplaceable role of the human touch and creativity.

Boasting an openly queer cast, ‘Straight Best Friend’ is a light-hearted 3-episode web series. Episode 1 is readily accessible for free on YouTube, while episodes 2 and 3 are exclusively available to supporters on Dear Straight People’s Patreon.

PLOT: A chance encounter reconnects Ivan with his childhood best friend, Andrew. As they rekindle their friendship, Ivan finds himself falling for his straight best friend all over again.

SUPPORT LGBT+ MEDIA WORKS IN SINGAPORE

As any of the filmmakers above would attest to, it’s hard to be an LGBT+ filmmaker in Singapore.

While YouTube provides us with a platform to display our works away from Singapore’s media censorship laws, it is excruciatingly challenging to secure funding for LGBT+ productions as strict media censorship laws deter companies in Singapore from supporting LGBT+ projects.

So do give the above productions a stream or two to show your support for Singapore’s queer filmmakers.

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