Journalist and author Noah Gittell over at one of my favourite websites, mic.com wrote a very successful and amusing piece on the 14 Brilliant Films You can Watch In The Time It Takes To Eat Lunch. You should go over there and read Noah’s piece and watch the movies he recommends. It’s almost an entire film school in a little over an hour.
I love short films, and that’s why we show over 15 short programmes each year at Raindance, the the quality of our shorts programme is why we rare an Oscar qualifying film festival.
I thought I’d add 4 more brilliant shorts to Noah’s piece, and then blatantly ride his coat tails and call this 28 Brilliant Shorts.
And know what? You could still watch all 28 in your lunch time. Or bed time.
15. Goodbye to the Normals 4 mins
Originally commissioned by Robbie Williams in 2006, ‘Goodbye to the Normals’ tells the tale of a young boy, Magnus, who has decided to leave home for the USA. The only condition was that 30 seconds of his song had to be included, and Williams made no other creative controls on the film. One of my personal favourites
16. What’s a Girl To Do? 3 mins
Keeping with a musical theme, Natasha Khan AKA Bat For Lashes — brings a fairytale quality and air of mystery to her music, performing a delicate balancing act between everyday emotions and the power of fantasy. This lower than low budget video really got her career in motion
17 – 26. Nokia 15 Second Shorts 3 mins
In 2003 Nokia introduced the first phone that could take video – and just 15 seconds. I convinced them to run a shorts competition where the length was just 15 seconds, and thus another filmic concept was invented by Raindance – in what has become known as micro or snackable shorts. Brand new in 2003 was the concept of UGC – User Generated Content. Here is a reel of ten shorts from the 2006 version – half shot on cell phones.
Viewing this entire reel takes just a couple minutes, but careful – you’ll want to watch them again and again.
28. Omar, The Short 1.5 mins
Jarl Olsen is one of my favourite filmmakers and we have shown an astonishing 16 of his shorts over the years. This one, Omar, The Short perfectly explains the bull shit in Hollywood. Stuff no film school could ever explain.
Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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