What is a short film?

What is a short film?

An 'official' definition from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences tells us that a short film is "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes of less, including all credits".

I've defined a short film myself in film lessons as 'a film in which plot is condensed, but perhaps has a greater impact, emotionally, because of its time limitations.'

Short films are also great for new filmmakers- an entire idea can be conceived, rather than the filmmaker worrying about fleshing things out. They also offer a low(er) budget for the newer filmmaker.