KUALA LUMPUR, August 18 — Short films can open the door to full length feature films in the cinemas for an aspiring filmmaker.
From Christopher Nolan to James Wan, many of the top filmmakers working today started their careers with short films that took off at film festivals.
But with the rise of online stardom through short form content on the plethora of platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, are short films still worth the time, effort, and money?
For Malaysian filmmaker Jared Lee, making short films was what pushed his career forward.
Lee started as a YouTuber in the early days of the Malaysian scene in 2011 with his channel The Grim Film, creating videos alongside peers like JinnyBoyTV and DanKhoo Productions.
But after a challenging journey recovering from a testicular cancer diagnosis in 2018, Lee focused his efforts on pursuing his film career.
When Malay Mail spoke to Lee last year, his animated short film Horologist had just been selected to be screened at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner.
It later won the Best Animation award at the 2023 San Diego Independent Film Festival, part of the San Diego Comic Con (SDCC).
Lee made his return to the recent SDCC 2024 for a live-action short film he shot in 2020 titled Influencer, which was nominated for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy at the SDCC Film Festival.
The graphic novel version of Horologist was also nominated by the Eisner Awards (the Oscars for comic books) for Best Single Issue/One Shot.
Lee has been working actively on new projects, he shared with Malay Mail his advice to aspiring filmmakers on how to make successful short films.
Why short films still matter
According to Lee, the goals of a content creator and an aspiring filmmaker are different.
“If the path you want to go on making content for social media, there’s nothing wrong with going that direction,” Lee said.
“But if you want to be serious about your craft for film, and to eventually make a feature, a short film will open doors for you to grow.”
“Without a short film, there won’t be a chance to attend a film festival as a filmmaker, to apply for labs to improve your writing and to meet peers from around the world to learn from.”
The filmmaker said short films can be the gateway to feature films and encouraged newbies to ‘just start’ making them as a way to get experience.
Making your first short film
A short film’s runtime is usually less than 40 minutes according to The Oscars guidelines, but most festivals would prefer a runtime of 10 to 15 minutes.
Lee advised young filmmakers to work within their own means and keep things fun and simple.
“Get your friends and family, use what you have, ask for favours, keep things fun,” he said.
“My first short had a budget of RM50. Keep going from there, learn from mistakes, don’t be satisfied with your work.”
Grim Film’s first short The Long Distance Relationship was released in 2011, based on a script written by Lee, shot with a small crew of close friends.
The video went viral, currently sitting at three million views, and put Lee’s name out into the local film industry.
After many offers and calls to start making feature length projects, Lee resigned from his job and made Grim Film into a production company, a rare feat in the early 2010s.
Film festivals and grants
Submitting a short film to a festival boosts the chances of you being exposed as a filmmaker, apart from offering a chance to build a network of contacts.
Malay Mail has covered tips to submit shorts to local festivals, but international festivals may require submission fees and travel costs.
Lee said that grants by The National Film Development Corporation (Finas) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) can be obtained to help to subsidise the cost of travelling to overseas festivals.
“There is always a grant which filmmakers can pitch for to subsidise the cost of the trip to a festival if your film gets nominated or selected,” the filmmaker said.
“I tried my luck and thankfully they agreed to cover part of this SDCC trip (which would be expensive if I paid in full). If not for them, I wouldn’t be there. So thank you, Finas.”
Lee advised young filmmakers to monitor Finas and MDEC’s social media to keep an eye out for grants and programmes that help to ease productions costs.
International festivals like Cannes Cinéfondation and SGIFF also have their own film development programmes that help turn scripts into feature films.
Travelling to another country to promote a film may sound fun, but Lee said that film festival trips are anything but a holiday.
In SDCC 2024, Lee was always in ‘work mode’ even setting meetings outside festival dates with people to help out with his future projects.
Networking is an important skill for a filmmaker to learn, aside from making the film itself; if not consider hiring a talented producer.
Why you should put your short film out there
Lee's sci-fi short Influencer centres around a neglected 12-year-old girl named Hannah who becomes friends with a discontinued android.
The short was screened in SDCC 2024 as Marvel was holding their big announcements in Hall H, hence Lee was nervous that no one would show up.
He was relieved that they were people who attended his screening and some audience members were moved by the visuals and message of his film.
One man believed it should have been shown in schools as it had an important message for kids.
Despite putting the work in for 13 years, Lee believes he has a long way to go before becoming the filmmaker he wants to be.
“It still feels like a long, long journey... I know this is only going to be possible if I don’t take it easy even for a moment,” the 39-year-old said.
“I need to keep the chase constant and hopefully through meeting enough good people, more doors will open.”
Horologist and Influencer will be coming to GSC cinemas nationwide in October as part of an anthology of short films titled Grimoire.
