35 Short Film Ideas to Turn Into Your First Movie

Growing culture 

Shorter attention spans and the ease of sharing online have seen a growing culture around short films. “[It’s] becoming a much bigger and more culturally important category of viewing than the industry recognises at the moment,” Jack Zimmerman, founder of short-film streaming platform Rover, told Dazed.

Low risk

Making a short film can be done on a small budget, with little time. Nolan’s Doodlebug was made on a “shoestring budget,” while Chantal Akerman’s Saute Ma Ville was filmed in a single night. 

Proof of concept 

Short films can generate buzz and represent a larger project’s potential. That’s how Jennifer Kent’s short film Monster became feature film The Babadook. Shorts not turned into anything bigger can still make valuable portfolio pieces. 

Festival networking 

Submitting to film festivals provides opportunities to gain recognition and make valuable contacts. Anderson’s short Bottle Rocket so impressed James Brooks at Sundance that he helped finance a feature, while Campion first got noticed when Peel played at Cannes.

Learning experience 

You’ll probably learn more about how to make a movie with a short than with a blockbuster. Take it from Stanley Kubrick. “I was a cameraman, director, editor, assistant editor, sound effects,” he recalled in a 1969 interview. “I gained a sound and comprehensive grasp of all the technical aspects of filmmaking.”

Potential virality 

Shorts posted online can end up going viral. David F. Sandberg’s Lights Out did just that, and now he’s an established director. 

Simplicity 

Don’t try cramming a feature film into five minutes. Instead, focus on a single strong conflict, emotion, or situation, making every second count. 

Christopher Nolan’s three-minute Doodlebug – during which an agitated man attempts to kill a small creature in his flat – is a good example.  

Few locations  

Keep locations minimal. Think about Jared Hess’s Peluca using simple locations around his hometown of Preston, Idaho. 

Small cast and crew  

More people equals more organisation. Keep that in mind while casting actors and hiring crew, and then pursue short movie ideas that won’t need many people on either side of the camera. Emulate Ridley Scott’s Boy and Bicycle, written and directed by Scott and starring only his brother.  

Small budget  

Limiting locations and crew does most of the work, but also consider how everything from transportation to props impacts your budget. Plan meticulously to limit your takes and recruit friends rather than professionals to keep costs down.  

Lynne Ramsay’s Small Death, for example, used only nonprofessional actors.  

Individual vision  

“You don’t need a huge amount of technical skill or talent,” Taika Waititi says of his early short, Two Cars, One Night. “All you have to do is just have a feeling for something.” 

Short films can be bold, experimental, and a chance to show exactly who you are as a filmmaker. Make the most of that freedom. 

Psychological/thriller 

1. An academic debate starts normally but becomes increasingly vicious and personal. 
2. We hear half a phone call that starts as a prank but seems increasingly sinister. 
3. Someone suddenly finds that everyone they know has no memory of them. 
4. Strange things happen on a set of scales when someone repeatedly weighs themself, offering insight into their distorted sense of self-image. 
5. A job interview starts normally, and then questions start to indicate it involves illegal or immoral responsibilities. 

Horror 

1. Someone hears an invisible set of footsteps that become louder as they approach their bedroom door. 
2. An already gravely injured person must crawl slowly away from an approaching unseen danger. 
3. A mysterious knife sticks to someone’s hand. They bring it to their throat as soon as they start falling asleep. 
4. Someone lying in a bath in the dark hears burglars enter the house. 
5. A figure completely obscured by robes crawls into bed and cuddles up to someone whenever they lie down to sleep. 

Comedy 

1. A woman in her car records several voice notes having to tell her partner she is unexpectedly pregnant. 
2. A man stopped by the police at night is innocent of suspected burglary yet carrying something extremely embarrassing in a backpack. 
3. A blind date turns out to be between a mother who secretly likes younger guys and her son who secretly likes older women. 
4. Three people in fur suits at a furry convention all turn out to be undercover journalists. 
5. People want to start a fight club but immediately get cold feet and devise increasingly elaborate rules to prevent injury. 

Romance 

1. Two students notice each other during class and start falling for each other as they silently exchange notes. 
2. Two people finish a drunken one-night stand, and then one notices a favourite book that sparks conversation and a deeper-than-expected connection. 
3. Two couples at a silent disco show irritation, break up, and then fall for each other’s partners. 
4. Old-school enemies bump into each other on a train and slowly realise they’re compatible.
5. Two people exchange messages over a dating app before heading out on their first date. 

Mystery 

1. Someone alone at home starts noticing items randomly disappearing until the room is almost empty. 
2. Someone discovers their smartphone’s voice assistant can answer anything truthfully. 
3. Someone cracking eggs for breakfast finds increasingly bizarre notes in each one. 
4. A couple in a coffee shop becomes increasingly convinced another couple is about to rob the place. 
5. Someone stumbles on a treasure hunt in the woods, with items getting more valuable at each stage. 

Drama 

1. A patient going into unscheduled emergency surgery must record a message for a loved one. 
2. Two old friends meet. One is rich and sleeping with the other’s partner. The other doesn’t know, but is working up to ask for a loan. 
3. Family members meet for the reading of a will and discover that it instructs them to decide who gets what percentage of the deceased’s assets before finding out how much those assets are actually worth. 
4. Parents disagree while discussing how to tell their child that their dog died. 
5. A desperately sad, crying person goes on a walk and sees things that change their perspective. 

Sci Fi

1. A cloning technician talks to a day-old but fully adult clone about their new life. 
2. A working-class human performs maintenance on a high-powered sentient robot. 
3. Someone about to die gets to plan their ideal electronic afterlife. 
4. Someone who spent the past 25 years in suspended animation meets their child. 
5. Historians from the distant future debate the meaning of an everyday 21st century object.