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  1. Dartmouth Libraries
  2. Research Guides
  3. Dartmouth Libraries Guides
  4. Film Genres
  5. Short films

Film Genres

This guide highlights library resources for some of the more popular film genres.
  • Introduction
  • Streaming services
  • Action films
  • Amateur films
  • Animation
    • Stop-motion animation
  • Animé
  • B movies
  • Biographical films
  • Blaxploitation films
  • Children's films
  • Comedies
  • Cult films
  • Crime films
    • Gangster films
  • Detective & mystery films
  • Documentary films
  • Ethnographic films
  • Experimental films
  • Exploitation films
  • Film noir
  • Historical films
  • Horror films
    • Slasher films
    • Body horror
  • Independent films
  • Indigenous films
  • James Bond films
  • LGBTQIA+
  • Mockumentary films
  • Musicals
  • Newsreels This link opens in a new window
  • Police films
  • Religious films
    • Bible films
  • Road films
  • Science fiction
    • Star Trek films
    • Star Wars films
  • Science films
  • Shakespeare on film
  • Short films
  • Silent films
  • Sports films
  • Superhero films
  • War films
    • Anti-war films
  • Vampire films
  • Westerns
  • Zombie films

Film Studies Librarian

Profile Photo
Lucinda M. Hall
Email Me
Contact:
Evans Map Room, Baker-Berry Library
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 646-0962
Website Skype Contact: d1128r8@kiewit.dartmouth.edu
Social: LinkedIn Page LibraryThing Page
Subjects: Film and Media Studies, Geography, Polar Studies

Other library resource(s)

  • Resource logo New world cinema: independent features & shorts, 1990-present by Alexander Street Press
    • Video
    • On Campus or VPN
    • Database
    Call Number: Streaming video
    The collection includes approximately 200 full-length feature films from leading independent distributors such as Kino Lorber, First Run Features, Film Movement, MK2, and the Global Films Initiative. The narratives provide a window into a wide range of cultures and sociological issues around the world.

Short Films Festivals

  • List of Short Film Festivals from Wikipedia
    • Link
  • LA Shorts International Film Festival
    • Link
  • Manhattan Short
    • Link
  • Miami Short Film Festival
    • Link
    The Miami short Film Festival is dedicated to promoting the short film genre, showcasing films from 1-30 minutes long.

Keeping up with the journal literature

Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's you can download and read the articles you want.

You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's now available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.

Introduction to short films

A broad category of films defined by their short running time in comparison with that of the feature film. For the purposes of the ‘Animated Short Film’ and ‘Live Action Short Film’ categories in the Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as forty minutes or less. At the Venice Film Festival, the limit set in entries in the short film category is thirty minutes or less. Short film formats were the dominant form in early cinema, with actualities, newsreels, serials, travel films, and animation all prominent. Through the silent era films increased in length from two-reelers to feature films, which quickly became dominant. Cinema programmes until the late 1950s often included short cartoons, travelogues, newsreels, etc. alongside the main feature.  ...

Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2020). short film. In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 May. 2021

In the library's collections

To find short films or books about short films in the Library's collections, you can click on the subject heading below:

  • short films

Introductory reading(s)

  • Cover art The art of short form content: from concept to color correction by Bryan Cook
    • On Campus or VPN
    • E-Book
    Call Number: eBook
    ISBN: 9781138910515
    The Art of Short Form Content: From Concept to Color Correction is an in-depth examination of the craft of creating short form filmic content - a category which includes television commercials, music videos, television promos, movie trailers, digital billboards, corporate videos, and pretty much anything else with a running time under five minutes.Though short form is an important part of the film industry, it is typically overlooked in books on the art of film-making.
  • Cover art Encyclopedia of American short films, 1926-1959 by Graham Webb
    • On Campus or VPN
    • E-Book
    Call Number: eBook
    ISBN: 9781476681184
    Short subject films have a long history in American cinemas. These could be anywhere from 2 to 40 minutes long and were used as a "filler" in a picture show that would include a cartoon, a newsreel, possibly a serial and a short before launching into the feature film. Shorts could tackle any topic of interest: an unusual travelogue, a comedy, musical revues, sports, nature or popular vaudeville acts. With the advent of sound-on-film in the mid-to-late 1920s, makers of earlier silent short subjects began experimenting with the short films, using them as a testing ground for the use of sound in feature movies. ...
  • Cover art How not to make a short film: secrets from a Sundance programmer by Roberta Marie Munroe
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .P7 M86 2009
    ISBN: 9781401309541
    Anyone can make a short film, right? Just grab some friends and your handheld and you can do it in a weekend or two before being accepted to a slew of film festivals, right? Wrong. Roberta Munroe screened short film submissions at Sundance for five years, and is an award-winning short filmmaker in her own right. So she knows a thing or two about how not to make a short film. ...
  • Cover art Making short films: the complete guide from script to screen by Max Thurlow; Clifford Thurlow
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .P7 T49 2012
    ISBN: 9780857853875
    Making movies is the most exciting way to earn a living and it is not surprising that media and film studies remain the most popular courses at colleges across the western world. A short film provides an opportunity for elliptical, poetic, condensed story telling. Shorts can take risks rarely seen in features. It is the arena where a strong voice or individual vision is possible; an invitation for experimentation and originality. Making Short Films, is entirely revised and restructured, providing a much more complete and detailed guide to film-making, with more information on new technology, illustrations and ideas for best practice.
  • Default blue cover Short film: an evaluative selection of 500 recommended films by George Rehrauer
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1998 .R37 1975
    ISBN: 9780024695307

Selected book title(s)

  • Cover art Animated personalities: cartoon characters and stardom in American theatrical shorts by David McGowan
    • Book
    Call Number: Sherman Art Library NC 1766.U5 M39 2019
    ISBN: 9781477317433
    Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Felix the Cat, and other beloved cartoon characters have entertained media audiences for almost a century, outliving the human stars who were once their contemporaries in studio-era Hollywood. In Animated Personalities, David McGowan asserts that iconic American theatrical short cartoon characters should be legitimately regarded as stars, equal to their live-action counterparts, not only because they have enjoyed long careers, but also because their star personas have been created and marketed in ways also used for cinematic celebrities. ...
  • Cover art Producing and directing the short film and video by David K. Irving; Peter W. Rea
    • Book
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .P7 R43 2010
    ISBN: 9780240811741
    Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video is the definitive book on the subject for beginning filmmakers and students. The book clearly illustrates all of the steps involved in pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. Its unique two-fold approach looks at film-making from the perspectives of both producer and director, and explains how their separate energies must combine to create a successful short film or video, from script to final product. This guide offers extensive examples from award-winning shorts and includes insightful quotes from the filmmakers themselves describing the problems they encountered and how they solved them. ...
  • Cover art Short films: how to make and distribute them by Nathan Parker
    • Book
    • DVD
    Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .P7 P315 2007
    ISBN: 9781904048817
    For new and more experienced film-makers alike, covering the entire process from script ideas to film festival distribution. Includes a free DVD of six award-winning short films, all discussed as case studies - with downloadable layouts for budget spreadsheets, release forms and sample contracts.

Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)

Articles and other writings about short films can be found in many publications. We don't have journals that look exclusively at short films. However, you can use Film & Television Literature Index to find relevant articles or use the search box at the top of the page.

  • Resource logo Film & television literature index by EBSCO Publishing
    • On Campus or VPN
    • Database
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    Use this index to find articles about this genre.
  • Resource logo Screen studies collection by ProQuest
    • On Campus or VPN
    • Database
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    A comprehensive survey of current publications related to film scholarship alongside detailed filmographies. This collection includes the FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database and the detailed and complementary filmographies created by the American Film Institute (AFI) and the British Film Institute.
  • Resource logo The web of science citation databases by ISI (Institute for Scientific Information)
    • On Campus or VPN
    • Database
    Call Number: Electronic resource
    The online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.

A Selected list of comedies

More film shorts in the collections.

  • Cover art 75th annual Academy Awards short films
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #2099
    ISBN: 9781594640391
    A collection of short films nominated for the 2003 75th Annual Academy Awards. Includes an extra feature on how to submit a short film to the Academy.
  • Cover art The hire: a series of 8 short films by Various directors
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #4412
    A collection of related short films created by some of the movie industry's best talent. In each film, Clive Owen stars as the Driver, whose skill behind the wheel becomes critical to the film's plot. Sub-stories provide an underlying plot linking each film to the next.
  • Cover art Igliqtiqsiuġvigruaq = [Swift water place] by Brice Habeger
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #20262
    For over 50 years, archaeologist Dr. Douglas Anderson, of Brown University, studied the Inupiaq Natives of Northwestern Alaska. When one of the last excavations of his career shuts down due to the discovery of human remains, he must rely on the relationships he has built with the Inupiaq.
  • Movie poster art The nine mile walk by Álvaro Brechner
    • Video
    • On Campus or VPN
    Call Number: Streaming video
    Two friends in a strange place begin a game of words that leads to an unexpected twist.
  • Cover art Shorts! Vol. one: 15 award-winning film festival shorts by Various directors
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #1912
    ISBN: 9780974527703
    Shorts! is a diverse group of award-winning short films showcased at film festivals all over the globe. Featuring some of the best shorts seen at the Sundance Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Starz Denver International Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival and more.
  • Movie poster art Sundance Film Festival shorts collection 2017 by Various directors
    • Video
    • On Campus or VPN
    Call Number: Streaming video
    Ten visionary short films selected from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, widely considered to be the premier showcase for shorts, and the launchpad, for more than 30 years, of many now-prominent independent filmmakers. Including fiction, documentary and animation from around the world, the 2017 program offers new audiences a taste of what the Festival offers, from laugh-out-loud comedy to contemplative reflections of the world we live in. This edition includes Fauve, winner of the Short Film Special Jury Award, and Matria, winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize.
  • Movie poster art Sundance Film Festival shorts collection 2018 by Various directors
    • Video
    • On Campus or VPN
    Call Number: Streaming video
    Five visionary short films selected from the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, widely considered to be the premier showcase for shorts, and the launchpad, for more than 30 years, of many now-prominent independent filmmakers.
  • World short films by Cinema 16
    • DVD
    Call Number: Jones Media DVD #14675
    Sixteen short films by international filmmakers, some of which are very rare.

Internet resource(s)

  • 15 Must Watch Short Films Available on YouTube from Screen Rant
    • Link
    Looking for a way to fill up a few minutes? Check out these incredible short films that are available either on YouTube or other online platforms. ...
  • The 49 Best Short Films of All Time That Every Filmmaker Can Learn From
    • Video
    • Link
    The best short films have a few key things in common: concise storytelling, great performances, an original concept, and stunning visuals. You can learn from each, but which are the best to watch? ...
  • Film School Shorts
    • Video
    • Link
    Watch now and discover your next favorite director.
  • HotDocs
    • Link
    Documentaries from Canada.
  • Pixar SparkShorts
    Pixar SparkShorts is an experimental storytelling initiative that welcomes new creative voices at Pixar Animation Studios to share their stories.
  • Short Film Central
    Short Film Central was started in 2005 to help filmmakers promote their short films. Central continues to grow into one of the most useful resources on the internet for information on short films, the people who make them, and the events which screen them. As well as providing a hub for industry collaboration, a major goal is to help extend the life of short films, which so often ends after their initial 1-2 year festival run.
  • Short Films
    • Link
    A site showcasing the best in short films.
  • Short of the Week
    • Database
    • Link
    From how films are funded, produced, and ultimately consumed, online short films are paving the future of storytelling. Today, the most interesting stories aren’t being told in theaters or even on TV. They’re being told here on the web. This is where you find the storytellers who are breaking free from formulas, inventing new genres, and surprising the world with shocking new points of view.
  • ShortsTV
    • Link
    For over a decade, ShortsTV has proudly brought the Oscar® Nominated Short Films to audiences across the globe. We do not have access, but if you have Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ or Google Play, you can watch the nominated shorts.
  • Sundance Institute Short Film Program
    • Link
    Short film program at Sundance.
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  • Last Updated: Jul 7, 2025 2:41 PM
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