Short Films and Art

Although the short film form failed to compete with feature length films, it found alternative arenas in which to operate, normally away from the mainstream. While short films struggled to become to compete in the field of entertainment, it already had some of the properties to be able to make it in the form of Art. It was a media form easily available to artists with a moderate income, who could either work on their own or with a group who share similar ideas. Avant-garde and experimental cinemas have traditionally taken a strong interest in short film, however chances for theatrical exhibitions of non-narrative dwindled from from the 1950s onwards and remain very limited within the mainstream. Maya Deren's experimental films, from the early 1940s until her death in 1961, displayed highly indivualistic sensibility towards the form of short film. Her work created a trend in American avante-garde filmmaking and to this day still remains as an influence on modern day avante-garde short film makers.