I recently stumbled upon one of the most effective short films I’ve seen in a while, and the runtime clocks in at just 80 seconds.

The film is captured in a single shot and has no on-camera dialogue. Just an off-screen voiceover heard through an answering machine. And some stark visuals that hook you from the opening frame.

Before I link to the film, it’s worth pointing out that this tiny short has already made more waves than many feature films made for 100x the budget.

It premiered at Slamdance (where it also won the special jury prize), got written up in Variety, and will inevitably lead to some incredible outcomes for the filmmakers behind it.

The film is called Dead Grandma, and it’s written, produced and directed by filmmaking team Rachel Kempf & Nick Toti.

The concept is deceptively simple, but impeccably done. The way the opening image slowly pulls back into the reveal (no spoilers!), just as it intersects with the voiceover is brilliant.

If nothing else, it’s a great reminder of how little you actually need to tell a great story. And that short form projects have just as much potential as feature films do. Sometimes even more.

Prior to seeing this film, I had been thinking of making a series of several micro-shorts that are under 3 minutes long. After seeing this, I’m even more inspired to explore that idea.

And I recommend other filmmakers consider it as a viable path too.

Even from a strategic point of view, these micro-shorts can be a really smart move.

Rather than make one bigger short film and cross your fingers it works out, you could make 10 of these tiny shorts.

That’s 10 more chances to hone your craft, reach the right audience, get into the festival, attract the financier, or succeed by whatever metric matters to you.

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