Five Shorts That Launched Careers

Tim Burton – Vincent (1982)

Running Time: 6 minutes

A stop motion animation about an eccentric seven-year-old boy who ‘wants to be just like Vincent Price’.

Fun fact! The film is narrated by the real Vincent Price.

Paul Thomas Anderson – Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)

Running Time: 24 minutes

Three seemingly isolated conversations in a diner reveal a more sinister plot.

Fun fact! The budget for the film was $20,000.

Wes Anderson – Bottle Rocket (1993)

Running Time: 13 minutes

A pair of bickering, petty thieves complete a series of robberies.

Fun fact! The film stars co-writer Owen Wilson, and his brother, Luke.

Lynne Ramsay – Small Deaths (1996)

Running Time: 11 minutes

A short split into three significant events which shape a girl’s life.

Fun fact! The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes, which Ramsay also won for Gasman in 1998.

Ramsay seems to have an affiliation with the medium of short films. She won a BAFTA for Swimmer (2012), which showcases the striking cinematography of Natasha Braier.

Ramsay’s most recent feature film, You Were Never Really Here (2017), has a water scene which is strongly reminiscent of Swimmer.

In the scene, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) imagines that Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov) is submerged in the dark underwater world.

Sofia Coppola – Lick the Star (1998)

Running Time: 14 minutes

A black and white exposé on the life of bitchy seventh graders. Watch for serious Mean Girl vibes.

Fun fact! The film also features a young Robert Schwartzman (brother of Jason Schwartzman and cousin of the director).

Hebe Dobson-Mouawad