History of Shorts and Examples

Short subject is a technical description originally coined in the Indian Film Industry and even in the North American film industry in the early period of cinema. The description is now used almost interchangeably with short film. Either term is often abbreviated to short .
Although the North American definition generally refers to films between 20 and 40 minutes, the definition refers to much shorter films in Europe, Latin America and Australasia. In New Zealand, for instance, the description can be used to describe any film that has a duration longer than one minute and shorter than 15 minutes. The North American definition also tends to focus much more on character whereas the European and Australasian forms tend to depend much more on visual drama and plot twists. In this way, the North American form can be understood to be a derivation of the feature film form, usually acting as a platform for aspirant Hollywood directors. Elsewhere, short films tend to work as showcases for cinematographers and commercial directors.

Short subjects in the modern era
Since the 1980s, the term "short subject" has come to be used interchangeably with "short film," an international, academic term used to mean a contemporary non-commercial motion picture that is substantially shorter than the average commercial feature film. There is no clear definition of the maximum length of a short film, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences classify it as 40 minutes, while IMDB refer to any film lasting less than 45 minutes as a short subject. The short-film form is to the full-length film what the short story is to a full-fledged novel.
Short films often focus on difficult topics which longer, more commercial films usually avoid. Filmmakers benefit from larger freedoms and can take higher risks, but they must rely on festival and art house exhibition to achieve public display. Most short films are better known outside the United States than within, due to less rigidity of audience expectation as to program content, arrangement and length outside the U.S. However, film shorts are often a popular extra feature on a film's DVD. For instance, Pixar's DVD releases of its feature films typically includes not only a short that was distributed with the feature film in its initial theatrical release but also an original creation featuring the characters from the feature itself. Likewise, Warner Brothers often includes selected animated shorts from its considerable archives on DVD releases of its family-oriented films that have a thematic relationship.

Internet
Such films can also be easily distributed via the Internet; Across the Hall, for example, was solely distributed on the Internet. Certain websites which encourage the submission of user-created short films, such as YouTube, BritFilms and Newgrounds have attracted large communities of artists and viewers, whereas sites such as BBC Film Network focus on showcasing curated British shorts.

Television
Shorts are occasionally broadcast as filler when a scheduled film's length cannot be conventionally fit in the standard broadcast schedule and the short is intended to fill in the remaining time of the timeslot. By contrast, Movieola is a Canadian cable channel devoted exclusively to shorts up to 40 minutes long.

Film Four Top Ten Short Films:

A Sense Of History
A tour de force performance from Jim Broadbent in this outstanding film by Mike Leigh. The 23rd Earl of Leete, a British aristocrat, tells his far-from-dull life story.

The Last Post
A young British soldier fighting in Buenos Aires in the early 80s finds himself separated from his unit. Stumbling across a young Argentinian fighter, the two young men reach a grudging understanding.

The Italian Machine
A trio of bikers liberate an Italian motorcycle from an art collector who wants it for display only. A trashy, camp, drug-fuelled delight from director David Cronenberg.

Call Register
Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy) and James Lance star in this witty tale of love lost and found, via mobile phones.

Mercy
Superb, subtly affecting film about a young boy who is neglected at home and bullied at school, finally exacting revenge on his tormentors.

My Parents
A young girl tries to impress her boyfriend by making her parents behave like they still madly in love with each other.

Le Fabuleux Destin De Perrine Martin
Perrine leaves the cinema after seeing Amélie - fascinated by the heroine's do-good deeds, Perrine decides to follow Amélie's example.

Talking With Angels
A beautiful, touching film about a young boy struggling to maintain a degree of normality for his family in the face of his mother's mental instability.

Simone's Labyrinth
An eerie, atmospheric film which explores the obscure inner world of the introverted and mysterious Simone.

The Sheep Thief
This atmospheric short by Asif Kapadia (The Warrior) charts the treatment of a young boy caught stealing a sheep.