BL Short movies & Mini dramas - China, Taiwan, HK
Sometimes, you don't have the patience to watch a full drama or movie. Then, it's perfect to go for a mini-series or short movies. Besides, you might miss out on some gems if you ignore titles just because you assume things. There is a treasure trove of short movies and mini-dramas in Asian BL, especially South Korea and Thailand have churned out a ton of them--some great, some not so great. China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong) has produced a couple of really nice mini-mini-series worth a watch. Here are the Chinese ones.
All the titles are included in my main Asian BL list, but that one is growing huge (755+ titles and counting) so I'll further narrow it down into separate lists, by category.
By "short" movies or "mini-dramas" I refer to independent stories that are considerably shorter than a "normal" full-length movie (have a running time of approximately an hour or less), and mini-series with either a very short episode runtimes--or very few episodes.
I will not be listing titles that are specials connected to existing dramas or movies--only original works.
The lists only contain titles in which BL/Gay/Male Bi characters/themes play a fairly big role. (Or exclusively.)
Lists are updated occasionally.
Note; I'm calling it BL to keep it simple--it would be more correct to say "stories about guys who like guys", since there is a significant difference in Gay themes and what BL nowadays has come to mean.
-
1. 5 Lessons in Happiness: Baby Maybe
Taiwanese Movie - 2020
Short in a collection of five short-films.
-
2. 5 Lessons in Happiness: Little Man
Taiwanese Movie - 2020
Short in a series of five short-films.
I loved this one. It seems others don't seem to appreciate is as much as I did--but I think it's great. The story is something you've never seen before, and it's hilarious. Yet, it tells it without glossing over the fact that the issue is impairing to the life of the MC. Short movies need to be able to tell a big story in a short amount of time--and here we get a story fleshed out enough to make this guy and his life real. Everything is in place, the story is complete, and I, for one, loved the nutty theme.
A big plus for the entertaining fact that this series of shorts have open endings--and the audience gets to decide and vote for which ending they want--which will then be included in the final, featured version of the movies.
-
3. A Cohabitation
Taiwanese Movie - 2019
Short.
-
4. A Light Year
Chinese Movie - 2018
Longer short. (41 minutes).
-
5. A Straight Man Like You
Taiwanese Movie - 2019
Short.
-
6. After Erection
Hong Kong Movie - 2017
Short.
-
7. An Encounter In Chengdu
Chinese Movie - 2012
Short.
Has a sequel which is considerably longer--however, it's a compilation consisting of several stories.
-
8. At First Glance To See It With
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
9. Attraction
Chinese Movie - 2016
Short.
-
10. Awakening Love
Chinese Movie - 2017
A very short full lenght movie--or a very long short. Depends on how one sees it. (1 hr 6 minutes).
-
11. Because of You
Taiwanese Drama - 2020, 10 episodes
Mini-drama.
-
12. Because of You 2
Taiwanese Drama - 0000
Sequel to mini-drama "Because of You".
Upcoming--and I'd assume that it'll be similar to S1 in terms of episode count and runtime.
-
13. Boss, I Love You
Hong Kong Movie - 2014
Short.
-
14. Capture Lover
Chinese Drama - 2020, 10 episodes
Mini-drama.
Has a special episode as well.
-
15. Caress
Chinese Movie - 2012
Short.
-
16. Cat Boyfriend
Chinese Special - 2020, 8 episodes
-
17. CEO and His Man
Chinese Movie - 2015
A very short full lenght movie--or a very long short. Depends on how one sees it. (1 hr 1 minute).
-
18. Cherries in Early Summer
Chinese Drama - 2016, 3 episodes
Short.
-
19. Closer to you
Chinese Movie - 2016
Short.
-
20. Coming Home
Taiwanese Movie - 2015
Short.
-
21. Coming Out of the Closet
Taiwanese Movie - 2019
Short.
-
22. Do You Love Yourself or Me?
Taiwanese Movie - 2019
Short.
-
23. Do you, Andy?
Taiwanese Movie - 2012
Short.
-
24. Don't Want You to Be Alone
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
25. Fanatic Love
Chinese Movie - 2016
A very short full lenght movie--or a very long short film, depending on how one sees it. (59 min.)
-
26. Find You In The Crowd
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
27. Find You In The Crowd 2
Chinese Movie - 2019
Short.
-
28. Find You in the Dream
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
29. Flyleaf of Summer
Taiwanese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
30. For Love, We Can
Hong Kong Movie - 2014
Short of the longer kind. (48 min.)
-
31. Fragile in Love
Taiwanese Movie - 2007
Short.
-
32. From Here to There
Hong Kong Movie - 2012
Short.
-
33. From Now To The Past
Chinese Movie - 2015
Short.
-
34. Gentleman Spa
Taiwanese Movie - 2019
Short.
-
35. Graupel Poetry
Chinese Movie - 2012
A very short full lenght movie--or a very long short film, depending on how one sees it. (59 min.)
This one is strange, too artsy (artsy is fine but it doesn't always work and here it doesn't) and just doesn't come through well enough. Acting is good and production is good for the most part. A couple of scenes are really hot, and to be honest, those are pretty much the only thing I'll remember.
-
36. Grounded
Taiwanese Movie - 2018
Short.
-
37. Happiness
Taiwanese Movie - 2016
Short.
-
38. HIStory: My Hero
Taiwanese Special - 2017, 4 episodes
ALL the HIStory installments are definitely worth watching and there are a few that are seriously good... however, those have more episodes and slightly longer runtime, so I won't be listing them. But DO check them out. (HIStory 2--two dramas, and HIStory 3--two dramas.)
-
39. HIStory: Obsessed
Taiwanese Special - 2017, 4 episodes
-
40. HIStory: Stay Away From Me
Taiwanese Special - 2017, 4 episodes
-
41. Honey Sir
Chinese Drama - 2020, 7 episodes
Series of shorts based on IRL stories.
-
42. I Am Not What You Want
Hong Kong Movie - 2001
Short of the longer kind. (49 min.)
-
43. I Go To School Not By Bus
Hong Kong Movie - 2015
Short.
-
44. I'm a Fool for You
Hong Kong Drama - 2021, 4 episodes
-
45. I'm a Fool for You 2
Hong Kong Drama - 2021, 4 episodes
-
46. Icarus
Taiwanese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
47. It Seems to Rain
Taiwanese Movie - 2007
Short.
-
48. Jump the Boy!
Taiwanese Drama - 2020, 2 episodes
Mini-mini-drama.
-
49. Jump the Boy!
Taiwanese Drama - 2020, 4 episodes
Mini-mini-drama.
There is a special for S1 as well.
-
50. Jump the Boy! Season 2
Taiwanese Drama - 2020, 3 episodes
Mini-mini-drama.
-
51. Jump the Boy! Season 4
Taiwanese Drama - 2020, 2 episodes
Mini-mini-drama.
-
52. Light
Taiwanese Movie - 2021
-
53. Lost
Chinese Movie - 2013
This short has basically no substance nor direction in the story, and you shouldn't waste your time. There are tons of better ones. It's not the worst out there, but it's certainly not good, either.
-
54. Lost
Taiwanese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
55. Love in the Water
Chinese Movie - 2012
Short.
-
56. Love to Our Youth: He Falls in Love with Him
Taiwanese Drama - 2016, 5 episodes
Mini-drama.
-
57. Love’s Outlet
Taiwanese Drama - 2021, 50 episodes
-
58. Me and Mr. X season 3: Goodbye Mr. X
Chinese Drama - 2016, 9 episodes
Mini-drama.
-
59. Mermaid Sauna
Taiwanese Drama - 2018, 8 episodes
Short.
-
60. Mr Yan Dong! Don’t Come Over
Chinese Drama - 2018, 10 episodes
Mini-mini-mini-drama. (Eps are just 4 minutes each.)
-
61. Mr. X and I
Chinese Drama - 2015, 4 episodes
Mini-drama.
-
62. Mr. X and I Season 2
Chinese Drama - 2015, 6 episodes
Mini-drama.
-
63. My Boyfriend
Chinese Drama - 2017, 7 episodes
Mini-drama.
-
64. My Novel Boy
Chinese Special - 2020, 8 episodes
-
65. Our Memory
Taiwanese Drama - 2020, 4 episodes
Mini-mini-drama.
-
66. Private Teacher
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
67. Rare
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
68. Red Balloon
Taiwanese Drama - 2017, 8 episodes
For this short a series, with such a short runtime per episode--this is seriously impressive. The amount of story and emotion that the director managed to pack within those few minutes--without making the end result messy--is surprising.
It's a simple little thing, and it's not flawless, but it's great. This would have made for an awesome full-length series, there would be so much to explore about these guys and their story--but even in this compact size it tells more, and with greater depth, than many standard runtime dramas. There are quite a few memorable scenes and especially one, concerning a side character, will burn into your memory. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.
Acting is great, the chemistry is lovely, the story is engaging and all in all, it should get much more attention than it has gotten. It's just a small little glimpse of a love story, but it's beautiful.
Production is good for such a small project with limited budget, big plus for some great songs in the OST/score.
-
69. Ruby and Ice Ice
Taiwanese Movie - 2018
Short.
-
70. Shiba San and Meow Chan
Taiwanese Movie - 2018
Short.
-
71. Skip School
Taiwanese Movie - 2020
Mini-short. (4 minutes.)
-
72. Sodom's Cat
Taiwanese Movie - 2016
I seldom say this (since if I don't, I rewatch until I do); I don't get it.
Or it might just be that there isn't more to get than what I caught. This is STRANGE.
And I mean STRANGE. It feels like it aspires to be so artsy that it totally forgets to actually tell a story that makes sense and can be grasped by the audience. You get what the creators are trying to do, but it's so oddly put together and so pretentious--that it's ridiculous.The ending scene is guaranteed to be one of the weirdest things you've ever seen. EVER.
I think my eyes went dry from my wide-eyed staring at the screen, when I caught up on what the dude actually was doing.Warning for a VERY graphic beginning scene, in case you're sensitive...
I can't even give it a rating since I don't know how to rate something like this.
-
73. Stay With Me
Taiwanese Movie - 2015
Short.
-
74. Tanabata
Taiwanese Movie - 2020
Short.
-
75. That Room
Taiwanese Movie - 2014
Short.
-
76. The Confession
Taiwanese Movie - 2016
Short.
-
77. This Summer
Chinese Movie - 2015
Short.
-
78. Tidal
Taiwanese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
79. To You, For Me
Chinese Movie - 2015
Short.
-
80. Toast to You
Taiwanese Movie - 2021
-
81. Way Out
Chinese Movie - 2017
Short.
-
82. We Best Love: Forever the First
Taiwanese Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
Mini-drama. Pretty much full lenght (30 minutes each) episodes, but only six of them.
Has a special episode as well.
-
83. We Best Love: The Runner-Up Strikes Back
Taiwanese Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
Sequel season to mini-drama "We Best Love: No 1 For You".
Same episode count and runtime. (6 x 30 min.)
-
84. Where to Go
Taiwanese Movie - 2016
Short.
-
85. Without You
Taiwanese Special - 2020, 2 episodes
Short.
-
86. YuXiang and Mark
Taiwanese Movie - 2016
Short.