The magic of short films at Sundance
The Sundance Film Festival is a beacon for filmmakers seeking to showcase their work and connect with audiences. The festival, as we now know it, has been running since 1991.
Known for its feature films, the short film section holds its own magic, serving as a springboard for emerging talent producing boundary-pushing stories.
Sundance is not just a festival, but a catalyst for creativity. Since the festival’s original inception in 1978, it has become synonymous with independent filmmaking and has launched countless careers.
For short filmmakers, Sundance is a unique opportunity to experiment with their ideas and formats and push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. If their movie makes it to the festival, it’s a chance to showcase their work to industry professionals, critics and audiences.
Whiplash (2013), written and directed by Damien Chazelle, is one of Sundance’s most successful short films. It was later developed into a feature that won three Academy Awards. It’s the perfect example of the potential of short films!
Like many other shorts, Whiplash just proves that short films can be storytelling powerhouses. In a mere few minutes, they can convey profound themes and emotions, leaving a lasting impression. Many filmmakers hone their skills in short film, developing their ability to condense complex ideas and characters into masterful visual pieces.
With the 2025 festival coming up and applications being submitted thick and fast, we felt it was the perfect time to delve into the significance of short films at Sundance, current trends in the short film landscape, and how you can write your own compelling short film fit for a festival!
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Current trends in short films: what 2024’s Sundance Shorts tell us
Before we look forward to the 2025 festival this coming January, let’s take a deep dive into the trends in theme and style that graced the screens during this year’s festival.
By analyzing the emerging trends from 2024, we can understand what makes audiences and critics tick. This can also be helpful, as we develop our own work as future filmmakers.
Diverse Voices
One of the most striking trends at Sundance 2024 was the significant rise of diverse voices, with filmmakers from different backgrounds showcasing narratives that reflect their unique experiences within rich cultural contexts.
This huge step forward in diversity not only enhances the power of storytelling, but also allows underrepresented groups to share their valuable perspectives. Essex Girl (2023) flips the ‘Essex Girl’ trope (which is very well-known here in the UK) on its head, exploring Black British girlhood and friendships in the early 2010s.
Lea Tupu’anga/Mother Tongue (2024) is another one of Sundance 2024’s stand-out shorts, joining a young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage but lies to secure a job where she’ll be required to use the language. We follow her as she tries to find a way to communicate or risk the lives of the patients in her care.
The emphasis on diverse storytelling at Sundance aligns with societal shifts towards more inclusivity within the arts as a whole. As audiences, we crave stories that reflect a spectrum of human experiences from all over the world and from all cultures.
This craving for new and different stories continues to encourage filmmakers to explore their identities and histories, sparking inspiration to create innovative films that connect with more and more people.
Related reading: The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing a Short Film || Wescreenplay
Experimental Story Techniques
Over the years, filmmakers have continued to innovate and find new ways to tell stories. The boundaries of traditional narratives have been pushed to make way for more examples of non-linear storytelling, immersive sound design, and new visual styles that challenge convention – after all, isn’t that what film festivals are all about?
The Bleacher (2024) takes an everyday occurrence and completely subverts it into the horror genre, as we follow Rita into a whole new world of the spin cycle of a washing machine when her sock is sucked in. The animation style, sound design and voice acting create a surreal yet captivating watch.
The trend of innovation is growing exponentially, with experimentation becoming more widely accepted and encouraged within short films. With a shorter run time, filmmakers have an unrivaled opportunity to leverage technology and creative techniques to draw an audience in.
Such experimentation leads to thought-provoking discussions around what actually constitutes a ‘story’, a conversation that we’re sure will continue to evolve as more audiences and critics are entranced by new ways of storytelling.
Genre Preferences
2024’s festival saw a vibrant mix of innovation and tradition in genre. As always, drama remained extremely popular, with powerful narratives addressing personal and societal issues. The desire for authentic storytelling and real-world struggles is still high.
The Looming Cloud (2024) explores the influence social media now has on our lives, as three siblings try to figure out how to post about their mother’s recent demise. Just 20 years ago, this wouldn’t have crossed anyone’s minds, but with the rise of social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, they have become primary forms of communication.
Sundance’s horror shorts of 2024 merged psychological tension with social commentary, showcasing society’s deepest fears in more contemporary anxieties.
In The Looming (2024), 70-year-old Chester’s cries for help are ignored, as a strange presence haunts him. The movie taps into our fears of aging and being forgotten by our loved ones. With the population living longer, loneliness of elderly people is a huge societal concern.
Comedy also did well at the festival, with shorts providing a light-hearted counterbalance to their horror and drama counterparts.
Basri & Salma in a Never-Ending Comedy (2023) follows a husband and wife as they uncover why they haven’t been able to have a child through looking after other people’s children at a carnival. While the film explores the pain of the couple, the humor helps make it more relatable.
While Sundance is always looking to the future, there is always room for nostalgia, especially when it comes to animation. Us millenials are taken back to our childhood in Miisufy (2023), where a virtual pet cat resembling a Tamagotchi begins to rebel against their owner, and we see the world through their eyes.
How to write a script for a short film
With the reams of inspiration from this year’s festival, we’re guessing it’s just way too tempting to write your own. Give in to the temptation, and let’s get that show on the road!
Writing a compelling short film script requires just as much focus and precision as a feature, and maybe even more. As you tell a story in such a short space of time (most shorts range from one to forty pages in length), it’s crucial to develop a tight narrative without unnecessary subplots or dialogue. The general rule of thumb is that one page equals one minute of screen time.
There are several first steps you need to take to begin developing your short film. All good short films depend on several key elements.
To begin with, ensure you have a strong premise with a clear message (stuck for ideas? Here are some ways to get your creative juices flowing!). Next, focus on your key characters. Keep these to a minimum, as you want to ensure they all have a clear purpose in the story with room for development.
Lastly, make sure you have a strong hook to engage the audience in the first few moments of your film. Your opening scene should be powerful and set the tone for the rest of the film. From there, set out a clear arc for conflict and resolution that will emotionally resonate with your audience and leave a lasting impression.
Also set the tone for your entire filmmaking process by using the right tools from day one. Celtx can help you streamline this process. With features like storyboards and scene breakdowns, we can help you visualize your narratives and maintain focus as you go – for both you and your peers!
For more on how to write a killer short film, check out our full guide here.
Sundance Short Films: A case study in success
We’ve already discussed some of 2024’s stand-out shorts, but what happens after that? It’s not uncommon for films from Sundance and other popular festivals to go on and gain critical acclaim or have a larger cultural impact.
World of Tomorrow (2015) delved into an animated world that explores the themes of memory, love and the future. Its innovative storytelling and artistic style gained the film recognition at Sundance and at the Oscars, where it was nominated for an Academy Award in 2016.
Another film that received critical acclaim was Thunder Road (2016), a story that follows a police officer grappling with personal loss during a eulogy for his mother. Like many shorts, Thunder Road was adapted in a feature in 2018, gaining even more awards.
Others that went from short to feature include District 9 (2009) (originally Alive in Joberg) and Whiplash. Both began as brief explorations of compelling premises, before evolving into fully-fledged features.
The success of these films just goes to show how Sundance can be a vital platform for filmmakers to showcase their work to major studios and investors. Shorts are a great strategic stepping stone into a career.
Despite the possibilities, it is important to remain realistic and manage your expectations as you dive into the world of short films and festivals. Not every short film will lead to a feature deal, with over 10,000 submissions made to Sundance alone every year.
By all means, make a short film to kickstart or further your filmmaking career. However don’t lose sight of your personal reasons why you’re making movies in the first place. Is it because you love storytelling, have an avid creative brain, or just can’t stop yourself from writing? Always keep that at the forefront of your mind, as the road can be a bumpy one.
While you may not have control over whether your film will be selected in a film festival, you do have control over your story, its emotional impact, and premise!
Dreaming of Sundance 2025? Share your journey with us on social media!
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