The best one-minute films excel in the areas of story, character development, sound design, camera, setting, dialogue and editing and, in so doing, are able to “resonate” beyond one-minute.
At the same time, Filminute looks to challenge and strengthen our understanding of the one-minute film niche by getting as many answers as we can to our favourite question: “What makes a great one-minute film?”
Here are three takes on the answer from past Filminute jurors.
• “A great one-minute film will last longer than a minute! Sometimes in a full-length film, you'll get one scene in the film that resonates beyond the length of the full film. The one-minute film is the reverse of that, in one minute, a great one-minute film will capture an idea that stays with you far beyond one-minute. The one-minute film is like a stained glass window: in one frame, in that one shot, you get the world.” — Ekow Eshun, Artistic Director, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
• “A good film, short or long, should show me something about our (inner and outer) world that I didn't know. As well, it should concern me, hit me emotionally – films work via emotions. A good film becomes a great film if it manages to additionally build up an own filmic universe, one of an original and poetical beauty.” — Klaus Eder, General Secretary, FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)
• “The only thing that separates a great film from a great one-minute film is length. Great stories make great films. They call on all our senses to create a fiction truer than fact that enchants us with mystery, sensuality and intimacy. In the final analysis, a great film is one that makes us feel more alive.” — Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi
