Why short film matters Kellie Ann Benz

Posted by Kellie Ann Benz on Monday, January 04, 2010. Categories: Film, Articles

Batman. 1972.

The rapid one-two kapows and zaps had me and my friends on the edge of our seats, then boom it was over and we'd leap to our feet yelling at the TV demanding more.

Those weekly 22 minutes went by in a heart pounding flash.

I was six years old and hooked on short form entertainment. Apparently, so were you.

Canadians spend millions every year producing short films.

Nationally, BravoFact, Canada Council and the National Film Board (NFB) output a steady stream. Provincial initiatives like the Atlantic’s CBC Short Film Face Off, AFCOOP's Film 5, NIFCO’s Picture Start, Quebec’s Sodec, the Yukon’s Mes En Scene, Alberta’s Prairie Tales and B.C.’s MMPIA and Crazy 8’s competitions deliver annually.

The National Screen Institute's Drama Prize training program and the Canadian Film Centre’s Short Film Program both offer the added bonus of training.

Finally, many Canadian filmmakers every year go the old fashioned route, maxing out their credit cards. 

In 2009 alone around 250 Canadian short were programmed into Canadian film festivals (that we know of). 

"Short films, if done right, can be the perfect gem. You don't have the luxury of wandering around an idea, or propping it up with a lot of subtle conversation. You have to strip it to the bone and make sure that every frame means something," explains Cordell Barker whose animated NFB short Runaway spent 2009 collecting accolades after premiering at Cannes in May. It’ll start 2010 at Sundance.

But do short films really matter?

"Short films are the genesis of cinema," says Alex Rogalski, Toronto International Film Festival's Short Cuts Canada Programmer. "If anyone wants to understand the future of cinema, they need look no further than short films."

Tina Santomauro, from VH1 owned Atom.com seconds that emotion: "In this digital world, shorts are becoming even more present and necessary. Multimedia platforms offer a new way to view media, on different and often smaller devices."

While carrot dangling success stories like Neill Blomkamp and Fede Alvarez are inspiring, the real excitement lies in how the medium of shorts is being re-defined.

Take for example, Sally Potter’s newest film Rage. This 2009 UK feature film – a funny, biting fashion industry murder mystery - was released, piece by piece (aka short by short) on mobile phones and online. Under the auspices of a fictional angry teen character, the story was exposed via his secret internet vlog posts. Boasting big name stars, the movie is now available in its entirety on DVD.
 
As Eileen Arandiga, Director, CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival puts it, "There is so much creative freedom in short film. It is artist driven and can be very liberating for filmmakers."

Not to mention increasingly lucrative.

Broadcast sales of a short film can range as high as 460 Euros per minute and to as low as 30 euros per minute. Distributors pick up films with fees anywhere from $3,000 to $175. Today, almost all online buyers not only pay a similar range, but also offer ‘click-through-revenue’ which, in some cases, can pay off those maxed out credit cards.

Still, financial payback remains only one of the wishes when a filmmaker decides to make a short. 

"An artist is always evolving," Joy Loewen, Program Manager for the NSI’s Drama Prize explains. "Short films provide both new and experienced filmmakers the opportunity to fulfill their creative abilities at any point in their career."

So yes, short films really do matter. In the coming months, this column will take a look at the ever evolving role that the short film plays in the Canadian Film scene – and even, dare we suggest – in the economy of Canadian film. 
 
Kapow.

- Kellie Ann Benz is a monthly columnist who writes about short film on the NSI website and also runs her own blog The Shorts Report -

(Super 8 image: stock.xchng, Kapow image: Deviant Art)

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Views expressed here are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

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The views expressed here are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

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