The Art of the Short Fiction Film

Book excerpt: This work is the first of its kind to single out individual short fiction films for comprehensive presentation and close study. Two Men and a Wardrobe (Roman Polanski, Poland, 1958, 15 min.), Coffee and Cigarettes (Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1986, 6 min.), Sunday (John Lawlor, Ireland, 1988, 8 min.), Cat's Cradle (Liz Hughes, Australia, 1991, 12 min.), Eating Out (Pal Sletaune, Norway, 1993, 7 min.), Come (Marianne Olsen Ulrichsen, Norway, 1995, 4.5 min.), Wind (Marcell Ivanyi, Hungary, 1996, 6 min.), Possum (Brad McGann, New Zealand, 1997, 14 min.), and The War Is Over (Nina Mimica, Italy, 1997, 7 min.) are the nine short fiction films studied. The films represent a broad range of storytelling approaches and a number of very different film cultures. Each film has a chapter of its own, including a shot-by-shot reproduction of the film with a still from every shot. In most cases, an interview with the director and an original screenplay and storyboard is also included. The book also describes a new conceptual model, derived from the films studied in the work, which can be used both for analyzing the ways in which a short fiction film tells its story and as a set of guidelines for student filmmakers writing their own screenplays. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.