Andrew Laurendi is a digital filmmaking student at the Los Angeles Film School. An aspiring filmmaker, he balances his independent filmmaking and digital literacy courses with his own productions, which mainly consist of short films. As a filmmaker, he enjoys learning about innovative, influential, and award-winning short films.
According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a short film is an original motion picture with a runtime of 40 minutes or less, including credits. The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film has existed in various forms since 1957, providing inspiration to young filmmakers and film students like Andrew Laurendi. Notable shorts include Six Shooter, which was the winner at the 78th Academy Awards. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, it stars Brendan Gleeson as a recent widower who becomes involved in a train robbery.
Filmed in 1956, The Red Balloon is one of the most well-known and highly regarded short films ever made. The experimental French film follows a young boy and his sentient, mute balloon. The red balloon has become a universal symbol for childlike awe, innocence, and transitory joy. Albert Lamorisse won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, along with the Palme d’Or for short films at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.
Another short film, The Wrong Trousers is as charming as it is innovative. Following the 24-minute short A Grand Day Out in 1989, The Wrong Trousers properly introduced the world to Aardman Animations’ claymation heroes, Wallace and Gromit. The short is bursting with wit and imagination, pitting the somewhat hapless inventor and his faithful canine companion against a sinister penguin antagonist. Aardman Animations’ stunning claymation work has since appeared in several Wallace and Gromit shorts and features, as well as Chicken Run, the highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time.
Duck Amuck is another animated short film that challenged exactly what filmmakers could do with the form when it came out in 1953. Daffy Duck was a well-established cartoon character at the time, but rather than subjecting the crabby duck to traditional Bugs Bunny shenanigans, the format is completely deconstructed as Daffy comes to recognize that he is a cartoon character suffering the whims of an unseen, all-powerful animator. Seeking fame and recognition, the animator puts Daffy into one torturous scenario after another. A series of fourth wall breaks lead Daffy to uncover the identity of the animator: Bugs Bunny himself. To this day, animators herald the short as one of the most creative films of all time.
Finally, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge has the unique distinction of being the only episode of the original The Twilight Zone series produced by anyone other than Rod Serling. However, the creators understood the opportunity they had with the French production. The nearly silent, 20-minute short explores the concepts of fate, escapism, justice, and death. Written and directed by Robert Enrico, the short is based on the 1890 short story of the same name, set during the Civil War. Enrico tells the tale using only sounds from nature and indistinct military commands. In addition to airing as part of The Twilight Zone television series, the film received recognition in the form of a 1964 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, a 1963 BAFTA Film Award for Best Short Film, and a 1962 Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival, making it one of the most successful short films ever made.
