If you, like me, love to use short stories in ELA then here’s an added option for you – short, short films for ELA!
Here are twelve short films for ELA and some suggestions on using them in your high school classroom:
1. The Black Hole by Olly Williams and Philip Sansom
A sci-fi-esque mystery about a man at work who makes quite the discovery. Great for making predictions. A good conversation starter about the role and/or limits of curiosity.
Find the film here.
2. Autumn Leaves by Saman Hosseinpuor
A beautiful film that follows a young girl on her way to school as she decides to pick a pomegranate instead of continuing on her way. An option is to use STEAL to examine the young girl as a character. Another option is that the film is without dialogue so students could create a narration to overlay the film’s action. (I love to use the wordless graphic novel The Arrival by Shaun Tan for this same idea.)
Find the film here.
3. Social Security by Peter Smith
An animated paperclip shares about its work-life. Consider creating a backstory for an inanimate object or create a poem that animates the inanimate – check out that ready-made activity.
Find the film here.
4. Doodlebug by Christopher Nolan
Known for dark films, particularly featuring Batman, one of Nolan’s earlier works is not short on darkness either. At just under three minutes, this film would work as a text through which to explore Psychoanalytic Theory or an exploration of irony.
Find the film here.
5. Vincent by Tim Burton
An animated film from now-famed director Tim Burton, but this was before he was famous. But the same aesthetic is present. This would be great for October and the ensuing spooky season.
Find the film here.
6. Late by Chong Yuen Ping
A non-linear narrative with a good payoff this film is just under one minute but packs a lot of punch. Students could retell the story in chronological order, which could be presented in images – think storyboards – or traditional writing. To differentiate the moments from the film could be provided on strips of paper that the students organize to fit a proper chronology. A minds on for a challenging text (I use this before teaching Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” or just a brain warm-up for a random day!
Find the film here.
7. The Death and Life of Desmond Wolfe by Brett Williams
A series of flashbacks tells the story of Desmon Wolfe’s life. Use this as a minds on for a unit on personal writing or studying memoirs. It could be used as a jumping off point for students to consider their own “big” moments in their lives so far. A word of caution that this approach to looking back at one’s life could be a sensitive topic for some students so please proceed with caution. An alternative would be to use this as a way to track a character’s life in a short story or novel.
Find the film here.
8. Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry
An absolute gem of a short film. This film works so well with Beneatha’s discussion of Black hair in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. Students complete a T-chart that compares/contrasts the two stories – Beneatha’s and Zuri’s, the protagonist of Cherry’s film.
Find the film here.
9. Oktapodi by Julien Bocabeille
A love story with adventure featuring two octopuses… octopi? The ending of the film cries out for a sequel or an extension of the story and this is usually what I present to students – what happens next? Using prediction and imagination tell the next chapter in the story of these sea creatures.
Find the film here.
10. Panoramic Chronicle by Lewis Trondheim & Jean-Matthieu Tanguy
A slice of life on a commuter train. The narrative overtop of this animated film looks into the minds and hearts of the passengers on the train. Students can create backstories or extend the story of any one of the characters on the train.
Find the film here.
11. Old Dog by Ann Marie Fleming
A heartwarming story that features a dual narrative of a man and his dog and the process of aging. This works as a study in allegory and looking for deeper meaning.
Find the film here.
12. The Tooth by Guy Delisle
The tooth fairy forgets to visit and a young boy keeps asking his father about it. The father makes up a couple of excuses but eventually the tooth fairy delivers. Students could use hyperbole to add more and more excuses for the tooth fairy’s nightly absences. Or consider some 6-word stories to summarize the experiences of any of the characters in the short film. Click for a FREE blank template to complete 6-word stories in class.
Find the film here.
There are so many options for short films for ELA that you can use. When you click on any of the films above, feel free to go down the rabbit hole and check out others.
Check out the synopsis. Watch on a faster speed. Consider how you can use these short films for ELA lessons you’ll be doing. I love using films but only when there’s a distinct purpose for including them! I hope the ideas in this post will be helpful with these 12 films or other films you find for your classroom.
Related article:
Looking for short creative writing ideas for your ELA classroom? Then check out this post.
And for more short films check out this list from Missy at A Better Way to Teach.
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