TWO MEN AND A CAR PARK (2010)

Two Men And A Car Park (2010) is the second short film listed here by Federico Forcolini. It is a very slick and well put together action, fantasy, comedy and was winner of the Newcomer Award Rushes Soho Shorts film festival of that year. To quote the publicity blurb it is "Just Another day staffing an underground car park. Two ordinary men share an extraordinary responsibility. it's a tough job but someone's got to do it".

http://vimeo.com/14234153

Two Men & A Car Park from Federico Forcolini on Vimeo.

COASTING (2011)

Coasting (2011) is a cosy little comedy by the director Frederico Forcilini and was an award winner in the Virgin Media Shorts competition. It is a good example of how very short films can have a naturalistic style, do not have to be dialogue free and can create interesting characters doing the unexpected. It all adds up to make for a charming short film that makes you smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX2OzvixVp4

DOODLEBUG (1997)

Doodlebug (1997) is an early short by the director Chris Nolan of Inception and Batman fame. It is an intriguing story that keeps you guessing to the very end and is genuinely odd and creepy. The film is a good example of what can be achieved in under 3 minutes, in one location, with one actor a bit of special effects and no dialogue but a very effective soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtDGJI32k2k

SIX SHOOTER (2005)

Six Shooter (2005) is an award winning short film by Martin McDonagh and starring the famous actor Brendan Gleeson. It is a good example of a longer short (it is 27 minutes) and demonstrates how a longer film does allow more narrative, characters to be involved and character development. It is an interesting and quirky film with elements of drama, thriller and some dark comedy too.

http://vimeo.com/2298743

Six Shooter from Chris on Vimeo.

NOUGHT (2000)

Nought (2000) is an award winning short film by Jonathan Beamish. It is a surreal film along the lines with more than a flavour of David Lynch. It has been described as "a challenging insight into a bleak, unstable world that exists within the realm of imagination" and it is very interesting visually.

THE BLACK HOLE (2008)

The Black Hole (2008) is a short film by the film-making duo of Olly Williams and Phil Sansom and was winner of the Virgin Media Sorts Competition. It is a fantastic example of less is more and how a very interesting idea can be explored in only 2 minutes and 49 seconds. It also is visually interesting and could easily be done on a minimal budget. An office as a location, a photocopier and only one actor. It is exactly what a short film should be and has proven to be a calling card for the film-makers having recieved over 10 million hits on youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

TWO CARS ONE NIGHT (2004)

Two Cars One Night (2004) is a short film by New Zealand director Taika Waititi that picked up numerous awards on the international film festival curcuit. It is a very simple story but told with real visual flair and excellent use of cinematography to create a real atmosphere and energy to the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFmbIO_JTH0

FACTORY FARMED (2008)

Factory Farmed (2008) is a short sci-fi film by Garreth Edwards that won the Sci-Fi London 48 hour film challenge. Their brief was to make a film from script to screen in 48 hours including the prop of a clear bottle with green or red liquid including the line "I am required to carry out this task until completion; your orders do not override anything". It goes to show that sometimes working to a specific set of instructions, within tight time and budgetary constraints can lead to creativity and exactly what is possible. Garreth has gone on to direct a feature film the critically acclaimed Monsters (2010). Monsters has been an inspiration to film-makers as it looks like a £40mn Hollywood movie but due to Garreth,s special effects expertise actually cost only about £50,000. He employs these visual effects skills here in Factory farmed also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvZ2GTGyE8s

SCHOOL OF LIFE (2003)

School of Life (2003) is a film by Jake Polonsky that won a best short film BIFA (British Independent Film Award) in 2004. It is a polished and stylistically shot short film to be expected as Polonsky is a pretty successful Director of Photography in his day job. It also comes with the all too familiar short film twist at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLYhtFEQ07A

SIGN LANGUAGE (2010)

Sign Language (2010) is a film by Oscar Sharp and was the Grand Prize Winner of the Virgin media Shorts competition. It really goes to show waht is achievable in a short film (it is under 3 minutes long!) by using KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) and a really simple idea that is well executed and very visual.

SIGNS (2008)

Signs (2008) is an Australian short film by the director Patrick Hughes who has also directed one feature film Red Hill (2010). It has been descibed as "An example of a near-perfect romantic short film". It demonstrates how of storytelling does not need dialogue but with clever use of cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and editing can still develop character, narrative and emotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0HNWto0UY

SCRATCH (1991)

Scratch (1991) is an acclaimed short made by the film-maker Jamie Thraves as his graduation film from Hull University that went on to win numerous short film awards on the festival circuit. He is known mostly for his critically acclaimed music video work that includes videos for Coldplay (The Scientist and God Put a Smile on your Face) and Radiohead (Just). He has also directed adverts and has a few feature films under his belt including The Low Down (2000) and Treacle Jr (2010). His work be it music videos or short films is very interested in the narrative and not simply style over substance. It is a great example of what an visual imagination, one location, a couple of actors and a really interesting style can do.

http://ec2-184-73-196-248.compute-1.amazonaws.com/director/19-Jamie-Thraves/work/177--SCRATCH-

BOUNCER (2002)

Bouncer (2002) is a short film by Geoff Thompson as part of the digishorts funding programme to new film-makers. A former bouncer himself it is based on his book Watch My Back. Like quite a few successful shorts it benefits from being able to draw serious acting talent to the production in this case Ray Winstone and Paddy Consadine. It also has the old short film trait of a twist at the end.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7i9em_bouncer_shortfilms


Bouncer by geoffthompson

WASP (2003)

Wasp (2003) is an oscar winning short film in 2005 by the director Andrea Arnold who has gone on to direct the features Red Road (2006), Fish Tank (2009) and most recently Wuthering Heights (2011). Her films are known for their gritty realistic style and naturalism in both locations and performances. Wasp is 25 minutes long and a great example of how both character and tension can be built in a short film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VEwcAAJ-LE