The 5 best short films fo all time

Short films can be a gateway to the big time. Hollywood heavyweights such as James Cameron, Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese all got their starts making attention-grabbing short films. I’m judging the finalists in the Shorts On The Green Short Film Festival at Circle On Cavill, Surfers Paradise from 6pm tomorrow night and it got me thinking. . .what are the best short films of all time? Yep, it killed me to leave out Spike Jonze’s I'm Here from last year but since it was 30 minutes I decided to keep the pool to actually short films. Here are my picks of the five best short films.

Harvie Krumpet (2003)

This animated short film by Australian writer/director Adam Elliot won the 2004 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. Narrated by Geoffrey Rush, the dark yet beautiful story of a man with Tourette's Syndrome won over critics and set Elliot up for his exquisite debut feature Mary & Max.

Geometria (1987)

Before visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro played with Hellboy or got lost in Pan's Labyrinth, he cut his teeth with Geometria. The Spanish horror/thriller follows a boy tired of failing geometry, so he summons a demon. Spooky and wildly creative, this nine minute gem gave audiences a taste of what del Toro could do.

Two Cars, One Night (2004)

Young New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi had his breakthrough with this Oscar-nominated short set in the car park outside a Maori pub. The sweet sentiment and understated humour of Waititi's tale was his breakthrough and he's gone on to direct Eagle Vs Shark, Flight Of The Conchords, Boy and star in blockbuster Green Lantern.

Vincent (1982)

A young Disney animator by the name of Tim Burton already had three short films under his belt when he made the stop-motion animation Vincent. Voiced by B-grade horror movie icon Vincent Price, it follows a young boy who dreams of being just like Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams. The dark humour and striking visuals caught the attention of several film studios and marked Tim Burton as a unique talent.

Miracle Fish (2009) From brothers Nash and Joel Edgerton's production house Blue Tongue Films came this captivating, inventive and simply brilliant short. Nominated for an Oscar, director Luke Doolan toys with viewers expectations in this beautifully realised about an 8-year-old's not so ordinary day at school.

Posted in: Adam Elliott,best short films,Blue-Tongue Films,Guillermo del Toro,Spike Jonze,Taika Waititi,Tim Burton