Rentals
Shorts
Skill and vision fuel the best short films, as these early experiments from revered directors illustrate.
Short films are at the heart of new British Cinema. It's in short filmmaking that countless emerging talents find their voice, and where a new generation of storytellers challenge and entertain in original ways. Among today's shorts filmmakers are the feature giants of tomorrow. The BFI has proudly backed many great shorts over the years and here you can find some of the most beautiful, fun and daring. From Stephen Frears' 1967 film debut to Terence Davies' remarkable trilogy and on to the 1990s 'New Directors', 21st century digital pioneers and beyond, the Shorts collection shows filmmakers at their experimental and innovative best.
SLRSLR
Drama 2013 23 mins Location: London
A twisted short film from Stephen Fingleton, director of The Survivalist. A man obsessed with ‘voyeur pornography’ meets his match in the form of a photographer known only by his online username ANORAK.
Christmas PlayChristmas Play
1959 18 mins
Taking the lid off the creative process - of a group of theatrically-minded 11-year-olds as they stage the nativity.
Amelia and the AngelAmelia and the Angel
Amateur film 1958 26 mins Location: South Kensington
A young angel scours London for her wings in this tender short by the young Ken Russell.
Dead HungryDead Hungry
Comedy 2009 10 mins
A hungry zombie finds love while terrorising teenage campers in this gruesome but fun twist on the zombie movie.
The London StoryThe London Story
Comedy 1986 16 mins Location: Waterloo Sta
Sally Potter's lively dance film about spies and government intrigue.
Things We Leave BehindThings We Leave Behind
Horror 2009 16 mins
For whom does the bell toll? A man discovers a dreadful secret among his late father's belongings.
The WatchersThe Watchers
Drama 1969 26 mins Location: Todmorden
A Yorkshire teenager begins to see and hear strange things in this unsettling slice of 60s sci-fi.
This TownThis Town
Documentary 1969 8 mins Location: Halifax
An impressionistic portrait of Halfax from 1969, focusing on the demolition of factories and the continuing deprivation in the town.
ArcadeArcade
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 14 mins Location: Brighton
A kaleidoscopic experimentation in colour, in which familiar Brighton locations are distorted and interspersed with imagery from adverts and film clips.
Never Come MorningNever Come Morning
Drama 1989 12 mins Location: London
Johnny, a poetic loner, crosses paths with a young runaway woman and together they embark on an all-night, pulp fiction journey through London’s sleepy metropolis.
Anton & MintyAnton & Minty
Fantasy 1995 18 mins Location: Soho
Minty’s hobbies include drinking tea, smoking roll-ups and falling into a coma, while Anton dreams of clinically depressed sheep breaking into the house.
Ten Bob in WinterTen Bob in Winter
Drama 1963 12 mins Location: Westminster
An early classic of Black British cinema about the intriguing social dynamics that arise as a ten shilling note is passed around the black community.
Dead LondonDead London
Drama 1996 20 mins Location: Farringdon Station
Ewan Bremner and Dexter Fletcher star as a pair of morbid fortune tellers in this modern tale of dark arts.
The Chalk MarkThe Chalk Mark
1988 23 mins Location: Glasgow
Set in and around the tenement blocks and rubbish tips of the Glasgow slums, this short film depicts a young boy’s perspective of his family, his friends and the local ‘bad man’.
The Future Lasts a Long TimeThe Future Lasts a Long Time
Crime 1996 14 mins Location: Fens, The
Dream-like short film starring Samantha Morton, in one of her earliest screen credits, as one half of a couple on the run who hide out in the Fens.
9 Dalmuir West9 Dalmuir West
Documentary 1962 12 mins Location: Glasgow
Kevin Brownlow’s atmospheric homage to Glasgow’s tram system follows the last tram to run in September 1962.
Momma Don't AllowMomma Don't Allow
Documentary 1956 21 mins Location: Wood Green
This lively profile of a night out at the Wood Green Jazz Club is one of the key works of Free Cinema, from directors Karel Reisz and Tony Richardson.
Nice TimeNice Time
Documentary 1957 18 mins Location: Westminster
The swirling neon frenzy of Piccadilly Circus is perfectly captured in this innovative short; a bewildering collage of image and sound.
Boy and BicycleBoy and Bicycle
Drama 1965 28 mins Location: Hartlepool
Ridley Scott's first film features his younger brother, the late Tony Scott, as a schoolboy playing truant for the day to meander around Hartlepool on his bicycle, lost in his own thoughts.
Refuge EnglandRefuge England
Drama 1959 25 mins Location: London
A Hungarian refugee attempts to navigate 1950s London with no English, little money and only an address on a postcard for guidance.
DavidDavid
Drama 1951 38 mins Location: Ammanford/Rhydaman
This drama-documentary about the everyday life of a Welsh caretaker and ex-miner was the first film produced by the BFI, in 1951.
FloatingFloating
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1991 41 mins Location: Limehouse
Deliciously dark psychodrama about a Docklands bus driver who turns his family home into a second Noah's ark.