July 19, 2022
Student short films are often the best way to learn about filmmaking and get started in the industry. Some of the best filmmakers started out by making lower-budget student films that had glimpses of the style they would become famous for years later. Watching student films is a great way to discover up-and-coming talent, and it can also expose you to unique, original stories. Here are some student films that stand out from the rest. This list is in no particular order.
Jonathan Rowan was studying film production at Loyola Marymount University when he created Man Down as his thesis film. The film is an emotional exploration of police brutality. Through its unique perspective on officer morality, it shines light on very real injustices faced by many communities across America. Man Down follows an officer of color after a racially charged shooting of an unarmed teenager. The officer must decide whether to stand on the side of the law or seek justice for his community.
Read More: A Reveel Exclusive Interview With Filmmaker Jonathan Rowan
Madeleine Rorke is an animator, artist and illustrator who studied animation at the Victorian College of the Arts. Her third year film “The White Nightingale” was nominated for best animated film at the Cannes International Independent Film Festival. The White Nightingale follows a young woman who wants nothing more than to be a ballet dancer in the next big production “The White Nightingale”. However, getting the role will be harder than she thought when her family and personal responsibilities put extra weight on her shoulders.
Liam Fahy attended Ireland’s Institute of Art, Film, and Technology from 2015 to 2019. He graduated with honors and created multiple award winning animated short films. How To Rob a Witch is one of his most popular. The story is a short fantasy heist about a brother and sister who rob a witch’s house hidden beneath a wishing well deep in the woods.
Another Liam Fahy student film, Mourning Murder is a creative one minute short film about a group of crows holding a funeral for a dead friend.
Elaine Artemieff created this short film using stop motion animation while she was a student at the University of Wales. Titled “The Lingers Home”, the stop motion animated short offers a magical look into the characters who appear as the lights go off.
A team of four students came together to create this short animated film in only four months. Angie Chong Woon Ching, Chris Lee Jian Siang, Calvin Seng Chin Hong, and Kalana Muththettuwage had different skills that they applied to the short film, Dragon Blood. The film takes place in a world where dragons are sacred creatures and their blood can cure all illnesses. A courageous boy sets off on a journey far from home to find a cure for his ill mother, despite risking his own life.
These students at the University of Derby spent their last year creating a short film that takes place during the American Civil War. The film is set in 1864 when a confederate soldier deserts his camp following a traumatic event, and leaves to join the Union. Feeling betrayed and angered, his older brother pursues him into the wilderness.
Guro Kjensli Johansen and Frida Bogen Lauritzen were two recent grads from an animation school when they decided to create the short film Beloved. The short is about a young girl who stumbles upon an elderly woman carrying groceries in the snow and offers to help only to realize that she’s not the only lonely one. Beloved is a sweet and heartwarming story with beautiful animation.
Kathleen Gleeson was a student at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts when she made the short film Snowdrifters. The film takes place in a land of humans and dinosaurs, where a girl and her raptor go out in search of herbs for a sick partner. In their hunt for flowers, the raptor accidentally spooks a baby hornface, and inadvertently sets off a chain of events that keeps putting the girl and the raptor between the baby and its fiercely protective parents. The short film doesn’t overstay its welcome and is a delightful watch from start to finish.
Roots was a group project created in 12 weeks by Sacha Rossi, Adriano Lorusso-Favia, Alexy Muller, David Klein, and Arno De Regge. The film is about deforestation in a fantasy forest. The story follows a friendly tree spirit as it makes its escape from the woodcutters. Roots has beautiful animation and a simple but effective story.
Kenny Ko was a student at Sheridan College where he studied animation and created the short film Wolf’s Child. The film is about a father who sacrifices himself to save his 9 month old son from a wolf attack, only for another wolf to take the orphan child as his own. Wolf’s Child is short but has a twist at the end that you won’t expect.
Dima Taran was a student in his 3rd year of college when he created the short film Laniakea. A Laniakea is a supercluster that contains our galaxy and 100,000 nearby galaxies, which inspired Taran to create a short animated film. The short is about a futuristic space explorer who can travel at superluminal speeds and has hopes to find extraterrestrial life, but as of yet, has not succeeded in finding anything.
The Backwater Gospel is a widely praised, award winning animation because of its unique visual style and the dark story that goes along with it. The film was created by Bo Mathorne in 2011 while he was in the acclaimed university, The Animation Workshop. The Backwater Gospel is one of the most memorable student films for its layered storytelling and unforgettable visuals. The film tells the story of a town that is cursed by regular visits of The Undertaker (death), leading to one day when the town decides to help death along.
Who doesn’t enjoy a great comedic story? Well, do we have a treat for you. We have created a list of really good comedies, and the best part? All of them are less than 15 minutes long! From the awkwardness of parking enforcement officers in “Ticket Like a Man” to Hollywood’s gender inequality in “Are […]
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Pride month is a vibrant time of celebration, reflection, and community unity. The LGBTQ+ community has enriched our world with boundless contributions, and as a gesture of appreciation, we have curated a list of Reveel movies that embrace love in its diverse forms. Our selection of the best movies for Pride month is a carefully […]
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We all know the allure of a good guilty pleasure flick — movies so ludicrous and outlandishly executed that we can’t help but be bowled over by the audacity. Welcome to the delightful chaos of entertainment where we go through 12 horror movies that are so outrageous they’re amazingly good. Strap in and prepare to […]
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Have you ever watched a movie that leaves you in awe of the beautiful, yet surreal, visuals and story? That’s the feeling you get when you watch Jamin Winans’ The Frame. The movie’s stunning cinematography complements the profound and philosophical story, creating an experience that’s hard to forget. In this blog post, we take a […]
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Have you heard of the film Tortu? This heartfelt gay romance has struck a chord with audiences. Not only does it have a heartfelt love story, but it’s also very relatable. We chatted with Gary Lee Vincent, the film’s distributor, to see what exactly made him fall in love with the film Tortu. Don’t want […]
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We all know the allure of a good guilty pleasure flick — movies so ludicrous and outlandishly executed that we can’t help but be bowled over by the audacity. Welcome to the delightful chaos of entertainment where we go through 12 horror movies that are so outrageous they’re amazingly good. Strap in and prepare to […]
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Storytellers from diverse backgrounds are seizing the opportunity to bring more narratives to the screen and Black filmmakers, in particular, are producing an ever-increasing amount of content each year. We’ve scoured our own library to bring you the 5 most compelling films that are centered around black history. These movies serve as perfect companions to […]
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