The Singers (2025)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08 · Missing measurements appear as gaps.
The story
At a small blue-collar bar, a construction worker pesters other patrons for money and drinks. The bartender, tiring of his behavior and bragging, offers him a drink if he can out-sing an older regular, then extends the competition to the entire bar: the best singer in the venue will earn a hundred dollars and a free beer. The patrons participate, with the exception of a younger man who is too shy to sing but reveals a beautiful voice while singing to himself in the bathroom before quietly leaving the bar.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
At a small blue-collar bar, a construction worker pesters other patrons for money and drinks. The bartender, tiring of his behavior and bragging, offers him a drink if he can out-sing an older regular, then extends the competition to the entire bar: the best singer in the venue will earn a hundred dollars and a free beer. The patrons participate, with the exception of a younger man who is too shy to sing but reveals a beautiful voice while singing to himself in the bathroom before quietly leaving the bar. While the older regular indeed proves talented, the construction worker is also a skilled singer and pianist. The bartender then joins in the competition with a moving and emotional performance that brings some patrons to tears and inspires a group hug with most of the bar. As the embrace ends, another patron steps forward, proving himself to be an unexpectedly gifted operatic singer as the competition continues.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 18
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sam A. Davis
- Writers
- Ivan Turgenev · writer
- Genres
- musical; comedy; short
- Themes
- community; talent; spontaneity
- Tone and mood
- emotional; nostalgic; raw
- Premise and plot tags
- musical competition; improvised; based on literature
- Source material / true-story basis
- A story by Ivan Turgenev published in A Sportsman's Sketches (1852)
- Reception
- The film won Best Live Action Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
- Awards and nominations
- Best Live Action Short Film · Academy Awards · 98th · win; Best Live Action Short Film · Academy Awards · 98th · win
- Production trivia
- The film was created without a script.; The production took place over four days at a Moose Lodge in Los Angeles.; The director was inspired by a viral video of a man busking in the New York City subway.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…