From last year’s Chekhov adaptation “Vanya” onstage with Andrew Scott to this year’s Oscar-nominated short film “The Singers,” 19th-century Russian writers are having their moment.
Director Sam Davis transplants an Ivan Turgenev story from 1850 to our times with his new film “The Singers,” streaming on Netflix this Friday. Nominated for the 2026 Best Live Action Short Oscar, “The Singers” centers on a group of gruff barflies who find catharsis and connection through impromptu singing while in their cups. Watch the trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.
Davis was Oscar-nominated in 2024 for his work as a producer on the documentary short film “Nai Nai & Wài Pó,” directed by Sean Wang. Davis also served as cinematographer on Wang’s beloved 2024 feature debut “Dìdi,” and for his sixth short film, Davis discovered and relied upon viral male singing talents to power his Turgenev-inspired project.
The cast of first-time actors includes buskers and musicians Davis scouted on Instagram and TikTok: Mike Young, Chris Smither, Will Harrington, Judah Kelly, Matthew Corcoran, Hutch, and Tio Rigo & Mr. George. From an army veteran to a tenor vocalist and a celebrated blues singer, they all come to “The Singers” with prior on-camera experience only as social media sensations. Here, they play downtrodden bar patrons who all get a chance to perform in a sing-off to find the best among them, uniting an otherwise unlikely ensemble and in a dark watering hole. Davis also handles cinematographer, with Island Styles on sound design.
The film was shot on 35mm with all the singing done live in camera. Iconic songs in the movie include riffs on the classic folk song “The House of the Rising Sun” and the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.”
The dialogue is heavily improvised, with Davis letting the singers tell their own stories. “The idea for adapting [the Turgenev story] was suddenly so crystal clear: I would retell this 1850 Russian short story, but with all these really unsuspecting, viral video singing talents who we would curate from TikTok and YouTube and Instagram from all over the world. Then we can fill a bar up with this group of geniuses in the rough, hiding in plain sight in a pub,” Davis told Variety recently. That story, plus Davis’ social media finds, allow him to tell a timely story of male loneliness plaguing many in dark times (and dark bars).
“The Singers” has won 35 awards across 49 film festivals since world-premiering at SXSW last year and playing Tribeca. It premieres on Netflix Friday, February 13. The film is among the five films vying for the Best Live Action Short Oscar, with the Academy Awards taking place Sunday, March 15. The trailer is below.
You can also catch all the Oscar-nominated shorts across documentary, animation, and live-action in theaters courtesy of Roadside Attractions starting February.
