The Revolution You Should Know About: Why Short Films Deserve Your Attention And Does The Film Industry Need More Of It?

Short films can be found practically anywhere, and almost every director has made a handful that are rarely seen or discussed. When you think about it, that's bizarre. We speak about movies (namely, feature films) and television.

Mean Girls was recently published on TikTok in 23 unique pieces, and the platform's subscriptions skyrocketed.

Netflix

What is a short film?

That could be because no one truly knows what a short film is. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation that bestows the Oscars, which include three for short films (animated, live action, and documentary), a short film can last no more than 40 minutes, including credits.

That's around the length of a network TV drama episode after commercials, while a short film nominee might theoretically be the length of an Instagram reel.

Why people like watching short films?

There's something special about watching a tight, elegant short that's precisely the length it needs to be, rather than inflated to an arbitrary length. Topics that would be brutal at full length (for example, palliative care, like in the 2019 Oscar-nominated End Game) are not just bearable but also moving at 40 minutes.

Jokes and punchlines work well in shorts since they don't require much exposition or character development. (Those of us who grew up watching Pixar cartoons are well aware of this.)

Short films allow filmmakers the freedom to take risks and play, in part because the audience might handle experimentation or irritation better if they know it won't take up their whole afternoon.

Where can you watch short films?

Right now, you undoubtedly have easy access to some world-class shorts. Netflix, like other streaming services, has a separate "Shorts" genre category under "Movies" that includes several documentaries but also scripted fiction and animated films. The internet is simply flooded with short videos, whether on YouTube or some niche site.

What is the future of short films?

If anything positive can come from the streaming revolution, it may (or could have) come from the development of an audience and market for short films. That would help to broaden the range of voices, viewpoints, tales, styles, and creative visions we encounter.

Film students, aspiring artists soliciting cash, filmmakers wanting to test out a concept or technique, and directors from underrepresented regions and groups who can't secure large studio or investor backing frequently begin with short films.

With an audience and enough interest, that could be directed into more work¡ªnot simply directing a big-budget movie but telling other stories that work best at shorter lengths.

Streaming providers have a long way to go before they can persuade people to watch the shorts. However, in a world where so much attention is drawn to relatively short-form entertainment¡ªthink TikTok Mean Girls¡ªthis cannot be rocket science. Who says a movie needs to be a certain length?

What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments.

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