What Makes a Great One-Minute Film

“A great one-minute film makes you lean forward and want to get involved. Something that resonates and lingers. Something that leaves you with the feeling of needing to be satiated by another episode. Something you can discuss as opposed to consume.”

— Craig Davis, Co-chairman and chief creative officer at Publicis Mojo. (Filminute Juror)

“It is powerful, provocative and won’t leave you alone. It makes you rethink something you thought you already knew.”

— Paul Haggis, Oscar-winning screenwriter / producer / director. (Filminute Juror)

“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.”

— Ekow Eshun, British writer, journalist and broadcaster and former artistic director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. (Filminute Juror)

“60 seconds go by in a hurry, putting a tremendous premium on a disciplined, hyper-reductionist approach to storytelling. There is no room for fat in this one-minute creative crucible, only filet.”

— Mark Tutssel, Global Chief Creative Officer for Leo Burnett Worldwide (Filminute Juror)

“A good film, short or long, should show me something about our (inner and outer) world which 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 its own filmic universe, of an original and poetical beauty.”

— Klaus Eder, General Secretary, FIPRESCI - The International Federation of Film Critics (Filminute Juror)

“Restraint, courage and a focused vision.”

— Sarmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker (Filminute Juror)

“A great 1 minute film is an original well executed idea which manages to very quickly and concisely use every second to tell a complete story. The best 1 minute films utilizes all of our senses to maximize its limited time.”

— Neill Blomkamp, Oscar-nominated director (Filminute Juror)