Jia
A 14-minute film that trusts you to feel the weight
Jia is a short film about two best friends in a California summer who can't keep pretending their feelings are simple anymore. That's it. No melodrama, no big confrontation scene — just two people, heat-soaked light, and the unbearable pressure of something that won't stay buried. The film premiered at Flickerfest in 2023 and earned a nomination for Best Short Film at the 13th AACTA Awards. It's now streaming, and it's the kind of work that deserves better than getting lost in algorithm noise.
What strikes me is how much Shi accomplishes by refusing to over-explain. The California setting isn't just backdrop — it's a pressure system. Everything feels slightly overexposed, slightly too bright, which mirrors exactly how it feels to be caught in a moment you can't look away from. There's a scene roughly two-thirds through where one character simply watches the other without speaking. The silence runs longer than you'd expect any director to let it. Shi lets it breathe.
Who made it and why the AACTA nomination matters
Vee Shi wrote, directed, co-produced, and edited Jia — which is an extraordinary amount of creative control for any filmmaker to hold on a single project, let alone one this assured. Nicholson Ren served as both cinematographer and co-producer (that dual role matters; the visual language feels deeply personal). Taysha McFarland rounded out production as co-producer.
The Flickerfest premiere in 2023 wasn't a small festival moment — Flickerfest is one of Australia's most respected short film festivals and an Academy Award-qualifying event. The AACTA nomination that followed placed Jia in conversation with some of the strongest short-form work coming out of Australia that year. That's not accidental credibility.
Hard to say if the 2026 streaming release reflects a remastered cut or simply a delayed international rollout, but either way, new audiences are only now getting access to what festival crowds responded to three years ago. Movie OTT has been tracking Jia's availability since it entered wider distribution — short films often bounce between platforms without much announcement, so knowing where to find it matters.
Why the 14-minute runtime actually works
Most short films feel like they're either stretching a sketch or cramming a feature into miniature. Jia does neither. Every beat is load-bearing. There's no filler, no scene that exists just to pad things out or milk emotion. You watch it in one sitting — that's all it asks for.
The performances anchor everything. Without naming specific cast members (the film's credits aren't widely circulated in English-language press), what comes through is a naturalism that's genuinely rare in short-form work. The kind where you forget the camera's there. I kept thinking about how much restraint that requires — how much the actors had to trust Shi's direction not to undercut what they were doing with unnecessary flourish.
The theme itself — two friends reckoning with romantic feeling — isn't new territory. But Jia doesn't lean on genre shorthand to carry the emotional load. It earns its moments. That's the difference between a short that moves you and one that just passes the time.
Where to stream Jia right now
Jia is available on major OTT services. The fastest way to find exactly where it's streaming in your region is to check the Where to Watch widget at the top of Movie OTT's page — that tracker updates in real time as licensing deals shift. Streaming rights for short films move quickly and without much fanfare. A title on one service this month might migrate to another by next quarter.
For a 14-minute investment, Jia fits into almost any evening. No three-season commitment. Find it, sit with it, and give it the attention it's asking for.
FAQs
Who directed Jia? Vee Shi wrote, directed, co-produced, and edited the film. Nicholson Ren served as cinematographer and co-producer; Taysha McFarland as co-producer.
How long is it? 14 minutes. It premiered at Flickerfest in 2023 before becoming available to wider streaming audiences in 2026.
Was it nominated for awards? Yes — Jia received a nomination for Best Short Film at the 13th AACTA Awards, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, one of Australia's most prestigious film honors.
Is Jia based on a true story? There's no public record of Vee Shi describing it as autobiographical, though the emotional specificity makes it feel lived-in. It's an original work, not an adaptation.
Where can I watch it? Check Movie OTT's where-to-watch tool for current regional availability. Streaming homes shift, so that's the most reliable source.
Who should watch this
Jia is for anyone who's ever sat next to someone they care about too much and said nothing. It's a film about the exact moment before everything changes — or doesn't. Fourteen minutes. Vee Shi's direction is confident without being showy. The AACTA nomination was deserved.
If you have any patience for quiet, emotionally precise filmmaking, find it through Movie OTT and watch it in one sitting. That's genuinely all it requires.