What is a short film? Can a short film or a feature film be defined?
I do not think so; it is impossible to clearly define what a short film or a feature film is without making mistakes.
While the Spanish Film Act defines a short film as a movie with a duration of up to 60 minutes, the reality is different. There are films of many different lengths that can be considered short films or feature films, regardless of what the law itself says.
Nowadays, dividing films and the industry itself between these two formats no longer makes sense; the film industry and the market have evolved significantly in recent years. We have experienced an unprecedented revolution, and yet we continue to maintain a working framework from more than a century ago.
You will encounter the problem when you start planning your festival distribution strategy; you will believe that by having a film of about 30 minutes you have a short film and that you will be able to participate in short film festivals.
The circuit no longer works that way; it did 20 years ago, but not anymore.
There are many types of festivals, each one is different regarding durations and the definition of a short or feature film. Therefore, if you have a 30-minute short film, you can participate in festivals that admit durations up to 30 minutes, up to 40 minutes, or up to 60, and not in festivals that only admit up to 20 minutes.
In other words, your “30-minute short film” will be a short film, a medium-length film, or a feature film depending on the type of festival where it is presented. It is difficult to establish a rule in this regard.
For example, the Punto de Vista Festival considers a documentary feature to be a film from 35 minutes onwards; at Alcine, which is being held this week, “short films up to 60 minutes” can participate; and at Winterthur, Oberhausen, and other important festivals specialized in “short films” of a similar category, they usually admit up to 40 minutes.
That is to say, if you have a documentary of, for example, 37 minutes, it would be a short for Alcine, a feature for Punto de Vista, and again a short for Winterthur.
If we also talk about festivals dedicated to medium-length films, such as La Cabina, it would also be a medium-length film. But not for the medium-length section of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, IDFA, which establishes medium-length films from 40 minutes, and short films up to 40. In this case, your film would be a short again, but it would still be a medium-length film even if it has a duration of 65 minutes, since in Amsterdam they are considered feature films from 70 minutes onwards.
I could go on giving examples like these indefinitely; each festival establishes its own framework and definition, so… What is the use of a law that defines what a feature film or a short film is, regardless of the country?.
If we talk about “feature films,” we have the same problem. Claiming that feature films are a more commercial format than short films also leads to error.
According to the industry itself, films over 70 minutes are more commercial, and not those of 60 minutes (considered feature films according to Spanish law). But a 14-hour film, such as La Flor by Mariano Llinás, which can be seen at the Cineteca in Madrid, cannot be considered commercial either.
Taking into account the success and failure of some feature films, establishing that films over 70 minutes are more commercial than others of shorter or longer duration means remaining anchored in an era that no longer exists.
In the 21st century, films do not work better or worse because they have a duration of more than 70 minutes; the market reminds us of this every week, even if many do not want to see it.
But… what do we do? How can we differentiate some films from others?
Very simple: by making direct reference to their duration. The market is not divided between short films and feature films, but between films of more or less 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, or 70 minutes, and so on.
We should stop talking about short films, medium-length films, or feature films and start talking about films, since they are all, without exception, films.
Therefore, when you plan your distribution strategy, start by considering the duration of a film—up to 15, up to 35, up to 50, etc.—and from here start looking for festivals and, above all, sections that admit the duration of your film, rather than just feature film or short film festivals.
Working on the concept of short films or feature films will not be of much use to you, since, in reality, they do not exist.