Short Films

It's What She Would Have Wanted

2023-04-02T11:13:45Z

Posted by: starfleetbrat

It's What She Would Have Wanted
Directed by Nate Trinrud

Maggie welcomes a group of childhood friends back home after the unexpected death of Debra, one of their own. The long-time friends have not just converged for the funeral, but also to fulfil a childhood pact to destroy evidence of their friend's most embarrassing secrets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HJ1A2hA86A

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Welcome Post

2023-03-26T04:58:02Z

Posted by: starfleetbrat

Long story short: This is a community for people who love short films. Share short films you find online, discuss short films, promote your own short film. So long as it is short film related it is welcome here.

Some guidelines:

When posting a short film please try to include the url to the short film, even if you are embedding it. Youtube sometimes changes its embed coding and the code can fail to work later on.

When viewing a short film please consider clicking the source link (if provided) to view it at the source. This helps the source channels get traffic and page views (and financial support depending on the site.)

Otherwise please check the other rules and guidelines on our profile page.

Illustrating Sam Newton by Lily Drummond

2023-03-26T04:40:27Z

Posted by: starfleetbrat

Illustrating Sam Newton
A young art student falls for a deaf photographer -- half a world away.

Written and Directed by Lily Drummond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp7KNxM9iHw

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Uprising by Ben Hansford

2023-03-19T10:26:28Z

Posted by: starfleetbrat

Funny little Sci-Fi about a robot uprising.

"Uprising" by Ben Hansford
Gaming super-nerd Bernie Meckler is having the worst day of his life. He's just failed to woo his secret love, his roomies have begun their online tourney without him, and -- oh yeah -- the robot apocalypse has just begun. Now Bernie must survive hordes of murderous Hellbots, packs of driverless Priuses, and his numerous physical inadequacies -- to hopefully save the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhW-vN6TwUM

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Hidari - Stop-Motion Samurai Film

2023-03-11T09:12:21Z

Posted by: starfleetbrat

Hidari - Stop-Motion Samurai Film
After being betrayed by his peers and lost both his father and his right arm, legendary craftsman "Jingoro Hidari" is on a journey of revenge with his partner "Sleeping Cat" and his mechanical prosthetic arm. Finally, Jingoro faces one of his adversaries "Inumaru" in a fight to the death...

This was so great, its a stop motion short film that is a "pilot" for a longer movie that is in the works.

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The Forgotten Place

2023-03-04T04:17:31Z

Posted by: starfleetbrat

Trying to get this community going again :D

Here is a short film I watched the other day, its about a guy interviewing for a best friend!

Directed by Oscar Rene Lozoya II and written by Jeff Locker (who also plays co-lead character Eric)

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MAIN ZINDAGI HOON / I AM LIFE (2009 short)

2012-06-04T19:22:50Z

Posted by: prashantbhilare

MAIN ZINDAGI HOON / I AM LIFE
2009 short film
run time 29 MINUTES
director PRASHANT BHILARE
language HINDI with ENGLISH SUBTITLES
home country INDIA

film festivals and film clubs
1ST FIRST STEP FILM FEST, ALBANIA
2ND JAIPUR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
3RD NASHIK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
7TH ANNUAL FRAMES FILM FESTIVAL
HYDERABAD SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
FRIENDSHIP INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF BHUBANESWAR
MINIBOXOFFICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
SHOWBIZ ACTION PLAYERS FILM CLUB MUMBAI
MOVIEMALA FILM CLUB

nominations
BEST SOCIAL MOVIE at MINIBOXOFFICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
THE GOLDEN CAMERA AWARD for BEST SHORT FILM at 3RD NASHIK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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Vainilla Chip & The Yoruba Tree | Erik Knudsen

2010-12-01T12:36:58Z

Posted by: glinda

The following are two short documentaries filmed in the Cuban town of San Antonio de los Baños near Havana four years apart, by Erik Knudsen – the academic/documentary maker of Danish/Ghanaian origin, not to be confused with the Canadian actor of the same name. Both are short and not entirely conventional examples of the documentary genre, but oddly compelling viewing nonetheless.

Vainilla Chip (2009) is a short, only 17 minutes long, documentary. It follows a day in the life of elderly ice-cream maker Javier Rodriguez Casanova. The viewer watches him dawn to dusk, as he goes through his routine of making ice-cream and looking after his business, framed by the rituals he has developed around grieving his wife. There is no dialogue or voice-over in the film, yet there is something compulsive about watching Javier at work, his grief is etched in his face and his actions. Following a routine he has clearly followed for a long time, with an unspoken knowledge that if he didn’t his grief would consume him.

This is a film about grief and loss, and how life goes on despite it. There’s a metaphor there is you want it, but whether for Cuba or for the human condition in general is left up to the individual viewer.

The Yoruba Tree (2005) is only just over 5 minutes long and on the surface is almost as different from Vainilla Chip as it is possible to be.

Whereas Vainilla Chip is about how an individual’s story can apply to a much wider population, The Yoruba Tree is about how a big wide event, in this case the impact of slavery on Cuban culture, affects individuals. It also has a narration, which is spoken in a rather lyrical fashion, as though the narrator was reading a poem, or perhaps recounting a story that has been passed down through many generations. It seems at once like fiction and like oral history, guiding the viewer to understand the connection between past and present as embodied by the woman’s actions and the continuing presence of the tree.

What the two films have in common, other than their location, is their use of sound. The natural and human sounds of the locations are not removed or lowered in volume; instead they are fore grounded. In place of the voice of the human protagonist that we are following, instead we have the sounds of their location, placing the person within the context of their wider geographic location. It’s obviously part of the naturalistic style of the documentaries, but it also gives the viewer the impression that they are listening to the sounds they would be hearing if they were standing where the camera stands. It makes the films feel less mediated, more raw, but in a good way.

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Movie Title

2010-08-16T07:04:04Z

Posted by: lourdes

View Poll: Movie Title

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Withoutabox

2010-04-29T11:36:29Z

Posted by: lourdes

I think most makers of short films in the community would know of Withoutabox.com

When it first arrived on the scene, many indies said, 'Who needs it? I can do my own festivals!' type thing. I know, I was one of them. Since then their site has grown and now I'm an advocate. There's lots more added with so many festivals it would take days to go through them all. Their filters are reasonably good when you're looking for specific genres, cut-off dates, up and coming etc.

That's generally, more specific to here is this tidbit..

Another bonus and interesting fact, at time of writing unless Imdb.com change this in the future, is if you're trying to list your short film on Imdb as a New Title (always hard to do if you have no or little track record, many get rejected if no prior history) is Imdb seem to automatically place it up as a title, even though your short may even get rejected from that particular festival you entered later on (shush! trade secret ;) - go figure. Imdb own Withoutabox so their systems may be a bit tied in there, as it seems an almost 'automatic' inclusion, once their editors see it coming from Withoutabox.

(cross-posted to filmmakers)

Edit: Imdb.com actually say now that placing via Withoutabox.com and accepted code sent (via e-mail), then they will place it. [16/08/10]

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Man on the Moon | Nandita Jain

2010-04-12T08:48:23Z

Posted by: glinda

I was watching this recently, I never get tired of the animation style, and thought people here might like to see it too.

( a wee review )

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Sandpit | Sam O'Hare

2010-03-19T18:54:38Z

Posted by: glinda

So I was writing a review of this wee film for somewhere else recently and thought the folks here might be interesting in seeing the film too.

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

( a wee review under here )

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DaDa!

2010-03-13T10:49:05Z

Posted by: glinda

Lately my life has involved lots of research on Liverpool, as I’ve been interning with a media company in Glasgow. You’d be amazed at all the random arts/film/media stuff there is relating to Liverpool, such as the recent Go Penguins! public art project or the Outsider’s Film Festival. (Actually there’s a long ranting post I’m resisting making about the number of interesting film festivals, including the Sefton Short Film Festival, that didn’t run last year due to a lack of funding, I feel someone who knows lots more about funding than I do should write it – if someone has, do let me know I’d like to read it.) Mainly though I wanted to share a gorgeous little short film that was part of the DaDaFest last year. Held each year in November the festival combines film, theatre, workshops, art exhibitons, music and performance art, to promote art by deaf and disabled artists.

Is a film called The Rose by Caroline Parker, featuring a combination of animation and, what I can only describe as, singing in sign language. It’s a gorgeous little film and, while I imagine that someone who is fluent in BSL would get a lot more out of it, there seems to be a fair bit of mime in there too, conveying the jist of it to those who aren’t, so I’d recommend it heartily.

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Alice in Wonderland

2010-02-26T17:02:37Z

Posted by: glinda

With all the recent fuss about Tim Burton's new version of Alice in Wonderland it's all too easy to forget that this is far from the first adaptation of Lewis Carroll's best known work. That was made back in 1903, just 37 years after the book was published. The film was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, with music composed and performed by Wendy Hiscocks. At twelve minutes long it was the longest film made in Britain up to that point (and is a lovely early example of tinting to portray mood) however, due to extensive damage to the only remaining print, even after extensive restoration by the BFI it now only runs for just over nine minutes. The BFI have made it available to view for free online and more information on the restoration can be found here.

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Glasgow Short Film Festival

2010-02-17T23:26:29Z

Posted by: glinda

Probably only relevant if you're in the UK, but its the sort of thing I tend to find out too late to do anything about (or when I'm skint as I am just now) so I thought I'd share it anyway.

Tomorrow sees the start of the Glasgow Film Festival (18th - 28th February) and as part of that the Glasgow Short Film Festival will be taking place this weekend with attendant prizes. There are a variety of short film programmes running (mainly at the CCA but also at other venues around the city) over the weekend, both fiction and non-fiction.

The shorts festival is now in its third year, and is once again being programmed by the fine folks at Magic Lantern. Additionally this year sees the addition of workshops for filmmakers and visual artists, along with a couple of guest curated programmes from Radio Magnetic and New Media Scotland.

Tickets can be bought directly from the venues, or ordered online at the website, where they are doing a 3 shorts programmes for £12 offer.

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Tropfest 2010

2009-10-21T09:58:38Z

Posted by: alittlebirdy

Hey everyone,

Tropfest 2010 and Tropfest Jr 2010 are open for entries!

Tropfest has a new category this year for films made on mobile phones! I'm kinda excited to see what kind of films people come up with for that category. Should be interesting! (this doesn't appear to be a category for the Jr tropfest however)

Entries close Thursday 7 January 2010 at 6pm
Tropfest 2010 screening nationally (in australia) on Sunday 21 February 2010.

http://www.tropfest.com/au/
http://www.tropjr.com/au/ (for under 15yr olds)

Tropfest is Australia’s most prestigious short film festival, and is regarded as one of Australia's most iconic cultural events. It is also the largest short film festival in the world. Tropfest is known for its contribution to the development of the Australian film industry by providing unique platforms for emerging filmmakers through its events and initiatives, and new audiences for their work.

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shortfilms @ 2009-09-20T10:32:00

2009-09-20T09:26:23Z

Posted by: bilyana

Revisiting the Tim Burton topic from, uh, time ago, here is an awesomely dark and morbid animated short film he made in 1982 called Vincent.

A really in-depth discussion can be found here.

( Vincent )

--

I also meant to post Shane Acker's 9, the short film that launched the current feature length animation of the same name (which was produced by Burton). Haven't seen it, so I'm not able to say anything about it, but the short is great (a lot of you probably know it by now, but anyway).

( 9 + interview with Shane Acker )

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The Story Of One-Eyed Ophelia Jackson | Kat Morris

2009-09-19T20:56:01Z

Posted by: bilyana

It's Talk Like A Pirate Day today, so here's the closest I could find to a pirate short. The Story of One-Eyed Ophelia Jackson is the fun 2008 graduation film by Kat Morris. Cartoon Brew has some background, including production notes and sketches. To see more of Kat Morris' work, visit her blog.

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Manifest Destiny

2009-08-12T10:52:11Z

Posted by: alittlebirdy

This was reviewed over on io9.com the other day. Its a short film called "Manifest Destiny" and its the first short film from Darrell and Doug Waters who according to io9, shot the whole thing in their garage with medical supplies they got from eBay.

Check it out on Vimeo for HD and technical info, or click play below.
http://vimeo.com/5774583

MANIFEST DESTINY from Darrell and Doug Waters on Vimeo.

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Jan Svankmajer

2009-07-28T13:54:03Z

Posted by: bilyana

The first trailer for Tim Burton's Alice is out, and while I'm even less impressed than I expected (his overly gaudy worlds just don't do anything for me), the clip did remind me of some of the things I wanted to post here.

The work of Jan Svankmajer, for example, whom Burton acknowledges as one of his major influences. Svankmajer is a Czech animator, born in 1934, who is best known for his surreal, seminal stop motion animation.

(In 1988 he made a wonderfully creepy version of Alice, too. If you're interested in a way different Alice experience (stylistically, that is, Svankmajer's film is a lot more true to the original story than Burton's version), I really recommend this. Watch an excerpt here.)

But since this is a short film community and I've already talked too much, here are three shorts by Jan Svankmajer that use the same combination of live action and stop motion animation employed in Alice. They also share its claustrophobic, nightmarish atmosphere, which is so typical for Svankmajer's works:

"Down to the Cellar" (1982), kind of an alternative Alice story, if you want, in which a little girl is sent to the cellar to fetch potatoes and discovers a rather weird subterranean world.

"Jabberwocky" (1971), based on the nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll.

"The Flat" (1968), in which "a man finds himself trapped inside a one-room apartment with sponge-like walls, a malevolent bowl of soup, and a chair with a mind of its own".

( While fascinating and inventive, Svankmajer's often grotesque and at times disconcerting imagery may not be everybody's cup of tea. Be warned. )

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John & Faith Hubley

2009-07-17T22:18:21Z

Posted by: bilyana

Okay, so today there'll be happy kids. Those of late animators John and Faith Hubley, to be exact, whose play (improvised in a recording studio) provides the content for the following three shorts. Moonbird, featuring their sons Mark and Ray, received an Oscar, but I like the other two even better, illustrating their daughters' adventures and musings on life, death and marriage. Also contains dragons, knights and giant kangaroos. The films are as lively, sweet and poetic as one would suspect, and the animation matches it wonderfully.
(One of their daughters, Emily, is an animator today as well, while the youngest, Georgia, plays the drums for Yo La Tengo. Creativity runs in the family after all, I guess.)

( Cockaboody (1973) )

( Windy Day (1967) )

( Moonbird (1959) )

And another one by John Hubley that I like a lot:

( Urbanissimo (1966) )

More of the Hubleys' films (both solo work and collaborations) can be watched here.

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Katy Towell: Childrin R Skary

2009-07-15T20:22:10Z

Posted by: bilyana

"Little girls can be terrifying in their own small way, but a threat to the world as we know it? The idea is laughable."

Her former work as a preschool teacher has clearly convinced Katy Towell of the contrary. The protagonists of her animations are no innocent little angels, but rather dark and vindictive little tykes whose powers should not be underestimated. Or incredibly sad little girls, like Emily and Ida in the following two shorts. I love the stories and the animation, and Tim Jones does a great job with the narration. Hope you enjoy them, too.

( The Little Girl Who Was Forgotten By Absolutely Everyone (Even the Postman) )

( Ida's Luck )

( El Despertar )

More of Katy Towell's animations and illustrations can be found at Childrin R Skary.

"Oh, yes. Charon was small, once, too. And she - yes she - has always known the importance of her job. You see, anyone can ferry the dead across a river. But to cross the Styx when you can't even tie your shoes... and when you're still just a wee bit afraid of the dark...! Well, that's another matter entirely."

----

Tomorrow there'll be happy kids.

By the way, does anyone know how to embed the HQ version of YouTube videos (or videos from other sites, for that matter)? Is there a way?

And alittlebirdy, I'd like to ask you again about the tags :)

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Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2009

2009-06-20T10:39:18Z

Posted by: bilyana

(I decided to split this into two posts, hence the spam, hope you guys don't mind :-) )

Speaking of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the list of this year's prizewinners is here. Most of them are not freely available online, though. These are the ones I found:

( Audience Award: Western Spaghetti )
( Award for Best Music Video: Flogging Molly 'Float' )
( Advertising or Promotional Film Award: BBC iPlayer 'Penguins' )

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Les Gobelins

2009-06-20T10:36:18Z

Posted by: bilyana

Gobelins, L'Ecole de L'Image is one of the big name animation schools worldwide. For the past 7 years, students of Les Gobelins have produced the short films that introduce the sessions of films in competition at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Only 30-90 seconds each, they're creative and amazingly done little pieces (2D animation mostly). The films for this year's festival are now available on YouTube

( and are embedded here )

Past years can be accessed via the Gobelins website (for the archives scroll to the bottom of the page), where you can also watch a couple of great graduation films like For Sock's Sake, Oktapodi or Le Présage/The Omen, among others.

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Wendy Tilby: Neighbours And Other Strangers

2009-06-11T18:07:17Z

Posted by: bilyana

Wendy Tilby is a Canadian animator whose films I really love, both for their style and the stories they tell. All three of the following share the theme of life in the city and our connections with the people around us, even though we're usually unaware of them until coincidence, boredom, tragedy, or a leaking conduit change things.

( I'm giddy. I'm pretty. The city is mine )

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Short Films

It's What She Would Have Wanted

Welcome Post

TAGS

Illustrating Sam Newton by Lily Drummond

Uprising by Ben Hansford

Hidari - Stop-Motion Samurai Film

The Forgotten Place

MAIN ZINDAGI HOON / I AM LIFE (2009 short)

Vainilla Chip & The Yoruba Tree | Erik Knudsen

Movie Title

Withoutabox

Man on the Moon | Nandita Jain

Sandpit | Sam O'Hare

DaDa!

Alice in Wonderland

Glasgow Short Film Festival

Tropfest 2010

shortfilms @ 2009-09-20T10:32:00

The Story Of One-Eyed Ophelia Jackson | Kat Morris

Manifest Destiny

Jan Svankmajer

John & Faith Hubley

Katy Towell: Childrin R Skary

Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2009

Les Gobelins

Wendy Tilby: Neighbours And Other Strangers