10 Short Documentaries To Inspire Anyone to Make a Film

Whether you’ve directed a hundred films or just a humble Instagram story, this collection of short documentaries will inspire you to make your own

Documentary is a big word, but short isn’t. To make one, all you need is a device with editing software–a basic free one will do–images to play with–record them, make them, or find them–and some imagination. With that, you can find a story almost anywhere.

As a filmmaker, I turn to visual stories to inspire me and a feature-length films can be too long. A short is just as good, if not better: focusing on one small corner of the world can reveal universal truths and even a toilet-break is enough to watch the one that inspires your next creation.

If you’re starting out, or yet to begin, smaller projects also give you the chance to try things out, sharpen your tools, and actually finish a production. A completed short is worth infinitely more than that epic saga you’ve been sitting on for the last decade.

You can even make a short in quarantine: Great Big Story just made “not leaving home” the only rule to their #StayHomeFilmChallenge.

Take a moment to enjoy these films and see just what you could achieve in a few minutes.

Phone calls

Wifi makes the world your neighbour in a pandemic and no one has an excuse to not pick up the phone. Add a few words to a recorded phone call and you’ve got a mini-documentary.

What 4?

Let’s start with the simplest first. Here’s a short documentary I made on Instagram for What 4? (@What4Podcast).

Coronavirus got me questioning everything, so I rang my dad who lives 12,000km away to ask him what makes him happy. I edited an extract, puts some words to it, and made a short.

Before becoming a filmmaker, I would’ve told you that, "That’s no doc". But, while this totally text-based video anecdote might be modest, it's a documented audiovisual nonfiction story AKA a documentary film. Facts.

The Follow-Up

A step up from a text video is The Follow-Up, a poignant film made totally from a recording of the filmmaker’s screen as he reaches out to celebrities to calm his virus-related anxieties.

Landline

Landline is a great example of a high budget film that does basically the same: brings phone calls to life. Actors illustrate real phone conversations recorded from the UK’s only helpline for gay farmers.

And don't worry if can't get out to film. There are plenty of resources for rights-free images (Prelinger Archives, Vimeo, YouTube, national and international archives, and more). Just make sure you check their rights certification.

Living Through Coronavirus

Stories unravel the shared human experience. Right now, from Asia to Africa, Europe to the States, many of our lives just got a whole lot similar. This change is also the perfect basis for a stories drama and purpose. Great Big Story reached out to ten filmmakers across the world who all sent in visual records of their new lives.

My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes

Documentaries are often told about stories that already happened using the resources we can get our hands on. My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes is a great example. Using old family videos–not pornography-and the countless trinkets and objects his dad left behind when he died, Charlie Tyrell tells the poignant tale of his relationship with his father.

l’equip petit

Interviewees come in many shapes and sizes as the tiny footballers of l’equip petit (little team) show. The tales of this group of kids who play their little hearts out but never win a game is a great reminder that the joy is in the journey too.

Silent Sam

Your main character may not be able to speak at all. The Guardian is a great resource for excellent short documentaries.

99 Problems

Messing with your style can also catch a viewer’s attention. The right editing can turn a funny anecdote into a horror story or an ice cream man into a gangster.

Have You Ever Really Seen The Moon?

And if you can’t find someone with a story, make one happen. Interacting with someone in a novel way can spark a brand new tale. This man took his telescope out to show people the moon. Just that one interaction brought out wonder from anyone who was willing to give it a go.

Now it’s your turn, no excuses.

You may be interested in:

- Instagram Strategy for Business Growth, a course by Dot Lung
- Audiovisual Storytelling for Social Media, a course by Josune Imízcoz
- Directing Conceptual Audiovisual Pieces, a course by Jiajie Yu Yan