Last month, two of the most highly anticipated films – Kane Parsons’ Backrooms and Curry Barker’s Obsession – were horrors. Their other commonality? Both films were the creation of filmmakers who cut their teeth making shorts online. 

Barker and Parsons are, of course, not the only filmmakers to have started off making shorts, as the medium has long been a launching pad for those looking to forge a film career. But their start as YouTube creators is indicative of a shift in the industry – thanks to the internet, the road to becoming a filmmaker looks different from before, with the festival circuit no longer serving as the only place one can get recognised and cultivate an audience.

Following that shift comes a new startup called Rover, a curated streaming platform and living archive for short film culture. Founded by Alec Green, Jack Zimmerman and Will Gibb, Rover allows you to not only stream short films, but also opens up the process behind them, with screenplays, technical breakdowns, and long-form commentary from the directors existing on the site as well. “So much filmmaking knowledge just moves through these discreetly private circles, like film schools, festival Q&As, late-night conversations, and friends of friends,” says Green, who notes that un-gatekeeping is a major part of the platform’s goal. “But the reality is that the next great filmmaker might be learning through YouTube in their bedroom.” 

The platform is also coming at a time when the appetite for shorter-form content is on the rise. Last month, for example, Issa Rae’s microdrama Screen Time drew nearly 75 million views in its first week, making it the top-performing vertical series to date on PineDrama and TikTok. While vertical series are obviously not the same as short films, the massive success of Screen Time shows that audiences are more than willing to tune into more compact narratives. 

With attention spans dwindling and budgets tightening, it’s hard to wonder if there’s a world in which shorts and short-form content become the future of cinema. But maybe we shouldn’t count on that happening just yet. “I don’t think [shorts] are the future of cinema in the sense that feature films will be replaced,” says Rover co-founder Zimmerman. “But I do think that short film and short-form storytelling is becoming a much bigger and more culturally important category of viewing than the industry recognises at the moment.”

With shorts now having their moment in the spotlight, we asked filmmakers for their thoughts on the importance and future of shorts. 

PEPI GINSBERG, WRITER/DIRECTOR

“I see shorts as kind of little jewel boxes of their own – they’re self-contained entities and their own art form, and they’re really different from feature filmmaking.”

“I’m such a diehard for longer form cinema that it would be hard for me to say yes, [shorts are the future]. But I do think it’s a muscle that all filmmakers could and should practice and engage with. You can try things and be experimental and playful because the stakes are a little bit lower than making a big, long movie. I hope that people continue to watch and engage with shorts, but I don’t think that they will replace longer films.”

CLEMENTINE NARCISSE, WRITER/DIRECTOR

“People are always looking for new filmmakers, and for some people, short films are the easiest way to do that rather than committing to a whole movie. I feel like the industry is starting to suggest that, ‘Oh, maybe you should just create stuff and then we’ll feel more comfortable giving you funding.’ Especially with horror – there are so many horror YouTubers that made horror short films, and then [that short] became a thing. So, in the age of the internet, [shorts] are becoming a really good way to break into the industry and get eyes on you.”

DYLAN WARDWELL, WRITER / DIRECTOR 

“I love short films and I love feature films, and I think there’s room for both. But if shorts were to become the future of filmmaking, I would maybe question if it’s because of craft or because of market… If it’s indicative of an attention issue because of everybody’s dopamine being completely destroyed, or if it’s because people actually are being drawn to short films.”

BREANNA LYNN, PRODUCER

“From the jump, short films have been a place for people to break in, try things and showcase work that doesn’t cost millions of dollars to produce. [If shorts are the future], then I want to see how the economics are going to work there. Everything’s going to evolve, as is the nature of life, so I think clinging to this old school idea that features are the only true crème de la crème of art and filmmaking is a bit old-boy clubby. But, if a brand or a label isn’t funding said short films, then how is that becoming a sustainable lifestyle for filmmakers?”

DAMI OLATUNJII, WRITER/PRODUCER

“[Shorts] are incredibly important and really crucial to filmmaking in its totality. It’s how you can get ideas off the ground, and if you are really young, it’s a way to get your name out there without necessarily having that financial backing or a bevvy of experience along with you. I don’t think that shorts will be the future of cinema, period, but I think they will definitely be a part of the future of cinema.”