Keeping It Short

Making a short film, not unlike writing a short story, takes more commitment than one anticipates. Seventy years ago, short films lost the race to fame to feature-length films; today, though, it looks as if the once-abandoned art form is enjoying a resurgence. Or is it? Maggie Tiojakin reports.

While legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg travel around the world with their larger-than-life entourages, putting together hundreds of scenes into a two-hour box-office hit, lesser-known filmmakers such as Ari Sandel have to make do with very limited resources in order to create a less-than 40-minute movie that may never see the light of day in most popular cineplexes (unless it wins an Oscar, which Sandel’s West Bank Story did earlier this year).

In his Oscar acceptance speech, Sandel called filmmakers of short films “the little guys [who] … rely on perseverance and stick-to-itiviness and hustle and dedication and loyalty from a cast and crew who are doing it for pennies, if not for nothing.”

Then, there’s YouTube. With millions of homemade short videos streaming through the online video-sharing website, one can’t help but wonder if the often overlooked craft that is beginning to make a comeback.

Yet, despite its growing popularity, YouTube is not exactly a place for serious filmmakers want to get the credits they deserve. After all, serious filmmakers aren’t looking to get a few laughs from their audience; they’re looking to be noticed, appreciated and eventually awarded for their vision and style. For this particular bunch, YouTube feels too little too much.

“It really depends on what you want to achieve by showcasing [your short film],” remarks Tintin Wulia, an artist and filmmaker who is currently doing postgraduate research at RMIT University, Australia. “If you want buyers, try to compete in international short film festivals like Oberhausen or Clermont-Ferrand, where buyers and programmers are constantly looking to discover new works.”

Regarded as the oldest short film festival in the world, Oberhausen International Short Film Festival was founded in 1954 and has drawn among its participants such world-renowned directors as Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog and George Lucas. Three of Tintin’s short films (Violence Against Fruits, Are You Close Enough? and Slambangricketychuck) were purchased by SBS Television in Australia not long after they were screened at the festival.

Still, short-filmmaking seems to be a medium reserved for the select few. The history of it began in North America in the early 1900s. Back then, it was called a “short subject”, which was shown before feature films at movie theaters. Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton became popular through their appearances in short subject films, as well as the comedy team The Three Stooges.

However, with the rise of big-budget feature films in the 1930s, the art of short-filmmaking was shunted aside.

“I believe those who love feature films can appreciate short films,” says Edwin, a local filmmaker. “I think even Indonesian viewers are aware of the fact that short-filmmaking requires some kind of public support.”

In 2004, his short film titled Dajang Soembi: Perempoean Jang Dikawini Andjing (Dajang Soembi: The Woman Who Married a Dog, 7 minutes) grabbed second place at the Jakarta International Film Festival. The following year, another film titled Kara, Anak Sebatang Pohon (Kara, Child of the Tree, 9 minutes) was screened at the 2005 Cannes International Film Festival.

“Short film is a unique format,” says Tintin. “It has the potential to push the degree of abstraction up to the limit, and provides an opportunity to somehow isolate an issue and make [the audience] look at it from a slightly, or extremely, different angle.”

Seconding Tintin’s comment, Edwin said where feature films rely on dialogue to deliver the filmmakers’ message, short films rely on strong characterization. “A short film goes straight to the point. It doesn’t take the audience for a spin the way features do.”

Tintin says the three most indispensable factors a filmmaker of short films must have are,“Ideas, technical skills to put the ideas into an expressive format; and knowledge of the field.”

Edwin, meanwhile, believes the qualities are, “Passion, honesty, adventure.”

Currently, the popularization of short films all over the world is still done through the old-fashioned way: word-of-mouth, with their distribution limited to several public screenings and festivals or corresponding outlets such as Omni Film Distribution or Big Film Shorts. Mostly, the surest way to purchase a short film is by contacting the filmmaker or a supporting production house.

Nevertheless, the community is gradually expanding itself and the Internet is a wonderful tool to get the word out. In Indonesia, independent organizations dedicated to the art of short-filmmaking like Minikino (www.minikino.org) or Boemboe Forum (www.boemboe.org) are actively inviting movie buffs from around the country to submit new works or join them for discussions.

Hollywood may frown, but if short films can continue to make their comeback, then one day a prestigious Palm d’Or or Academy Award could be within reach.

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