Every famous director has to start somewhere. Short films seem to be the way to go for aspiring filmmakers to kickstart their careers. Many of these films showcase the potential of promising filmmakers who eventually go on to make their big break into feature film work.
Some short films, like Whiplash, serve as proof of concept for later, more recognizable work. Others have found audiences on the web and continue to serve their audiences there. However, not every short film has to be an entryway into a career in feature films. The short film is an art form in itself and requires a completely different set of goals than a feature.
Updated on January 1st, 2021 by Svetlana Sterlin: Short films have become even more accessible in recent years, thanks to YouTube, Vimeo, and countless other platforms. Even Netflix has jumped onto the bandwagon to release short films for viewing. Since viewers are becoming increasingly harder to please, and attention is harder to capture than ever, short films are the ideal viewing market to sell to. Luckily, most of these films are free to watch across platforms ranging from YouTube to Netflix.
The Jog (2019)
The Jog couldn't have become available to view on YouTube at a more timely moment. 2020 has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and various social justice movements, including the push for racial equality.
In this short film, a man gets a call that he's been accepted into a police academy, which is his dream. He then goes for a morning jog, where he notices a woman in trouble. He follows her and knocks out her assailant - a white man brandishing a gun. When the police arrive, they wrongfully assume that the black man is guilty. The film's ending is impactful and extremely relevant.
Locker Room (2017)
An Australian short film, Locker Room is about a girl's alienation from her male friends. The drama is also specifically about toxic masculinity and locker room culture at elite private schools.
A teenage girl named Carla discovers a secret group chat her male friends have created. She must choose between staying loyal to her friends, or doing what is right and exposing them for their exploitative behavior.
The Disappearance Of Willie Bingham (2015)
A confronting horror, The Disappearance of Willie Bingham is set in a prison where the inmates are used as test subjects for new punishment measures.
One inmate, Willie Bingham, is subjected to some particularly sadistic means of punishment. The film makes viewers question the justice system and how far it should go to serve said justice - in fact, whether justice can ever really be served. Morals become greyed, and the characters themselves are unsure of their stance.
1500 Words (2014)
This bleak comedy is about a man who has only 1500 words left to live. The story calls into question what one would do, knowing that words are a limited resource and that they must be used wisely.
The film gives a whole new meaning to the phrase less is more. For this man, silence really is golden - but how will he use his remaining words, and how will he manage to use them sparingly?
Forget Me Not (2018)
Bipolar disorder - and any mental health condition, for that matter - is often difficult to accurately portray onscreen. Forget Me Not is about two young girls living with a bipolar mother.
The film doesn't glorify her condition and does a good job of portraying how her daughters deal with their lifestyle. They live without any other carers, so the girls must take care of their mom. Mental health doesn't just affect the person with the condition, but those living with them, too.
Pitch Black Heist (2011)
If Christopher McQuarrie ever fell sick on the set of a Mission: Impossible film and needed an affordable stand-in, his man just might be Pitch Black Heist director, John Maclean.
Mclean's acclaimed, BAFTA-winning short stars Michael Fassbender and Game of Thrones' Liam Cunningham as world-class safecrackers who embark on executing what they believe is a foolproof plan to combat an office's alarm system. With feature-length suspense packed into this 13-minute thrill-ride, there is no telling what Maclean can accomplish when given an increased run-time and larger budget to work with.
The Big Shave (1967)
A decade before flexing his feel for the psychological impact the Vietnam War had on soldiers returning stateside with Taxi Driver (1976), Martin Scorsese demonstrated just the same in an early short film.
Those who catch The Big Shave will not need the film's 5:11 run-time to deduct that its plot – young man who cuts himself shaving, a lot (according to its logline description on IMDb) – to know it not only laid the groundwork for Travis Bickle's incomparable pathos but also foreshadowed the not-so-coincidental emotional denouement that was Richie Tenenbaum's suicide attempt in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).
Goldman V Silverman (2020)
Fresh of their biggest hit to date, brothers Josh and Benny Safdie had an indisposable collaborative talent in Adam Sandler at their luxury. Thus, after a press tour spent buddy-buddying it up with the comedian who turned in a tour-de-force performance for them in 2019's Uncut Gems, no one was surprised in the slightest when the trio teamed up yet again.
At just under seven minutes, Goldman v. Silverman pits Sandler's Rod Goldman and Benny Safdie's Al Silverman as street performers vying for the same Time Square street corner. Hijinx ensues as each attempt to move the other off their turf without breaking expectedly-mute character.
Anima (2019)
Fifteen minutes' worth of a musically-aided narrative hijacked often by a chaotic dreamscape of visuals should hold viewers over while Paul Thomas Anderson preps his next film.
Available to stream on Netflix, Anderson's collaboration with Thom Yorke of Radiohead is, as recommended, best played loud. One ought to make sure they get a full night's rest before sampling the duo's experimental project, or risk night terrors cut to equally-trippy vibes.
Six Shooter (2004)
Not long before earning three Oscar nominations total for In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – screenplay for both, and Best Picture for the latter – Martin McDonagh actually won big at the Academy Awards prior.
The Irish theater director-turned-filmmaker took home the gold for Best Short Film with 2004's Six Shooter. The short is a bloody-as-it-is-funny, 27-minute black comedy about a strange train ride encounter between a psychopathic "kid" and Donnelly (played by frequent collaborator, Brendan Gleeson).
Zamboni Man (2004)
Set in the chilling quietness of an ice rink's after-hours comes 2004's Zamboni Man. Directed by Seth Hendrikson, the film tackles the unlikely friendship between a soft-spoken, simple-minded Zamboni driver (Michael Shannon) and a graceful young figure skater (Tatiana Totmianina).
Though Hendrikson has not directed much since (save for his feature debut, the 2017 Big Foot-based holiday comedy, Pottersville, also starring Shannon), Zamboni Man moves as much as each of the films' two characters do when they gain the tranquility of utter aloneness their vacant ice rink lends them.
A Trip To The Moon (1902)
Available both in its original, black-and-white form and colorized editions, the film is a staple of every aspiring filmmaker's first "History of Cinema" course.
Directed by George Méliès, the far ahead of its time French film about a group of astronauts and their quest to man an expedition to the Moon later became the earliest representative on Steven Schneider's list of "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die."
What Did Jack Do? (2020)
Announcing his retirement from feature filmmaking does not preclude the one-of-a-kind artist from often dipping his hands into short film waters.
In his new Netflix short, David Lynch – who has teased a season 4 of Twin Peaks in the past, according to CBR – fits in seamlessly as a detective who shares many qualities with his beloved Twin Peaks character, FBI Agent Gordon Cole. He spends the bulk of the noir-sendoff in a game of reverse shot-dependent, back-and-forth wits with a sentient monkey (the titular, Jack), whom he is hellbent on detaining for murder. And to think, What Did Jack Do? is the simplest tale the four-time Oscar nominee has penned since his 1999 Disney film, The Straight Story.
Zion (2018)
Another Netflix Original, the short-form documentary tells the story of a young wrestler born without legs.
Despite the expected hardship, Zion Clark moves as a real-life hero worthy of seeing his improbable triumph receive the feature-length Hollywood movie treatment someday. If its respectable awards consideration throughout the festival circuit season is any indication, one should prioritize taking the mere 11 minutes out of their day to experience the most inspiring story they have not heard yet.
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Prior to completing The General (1926), the film many consider the vaudevillian's prevailing work, Buster Keaton dazzled audiences the world over with Sherlock Jr.
From the unprecedented imagery of his film projectionist character walking into a movie screen to the masterful illusions he achieved while inside the meta-beyond-its-years movie-within-in-a-movie, Keaton demonstrated how generations of filmmakers to come would follow his lead. The practical special effect-dependent Sherlock Jr. plays like a Robert Zemeckis or Russo Brothers joint bound to be remade with Robert Downey Jr. or Tom Holland (or both) in due time.