Give Something Short a Shot

You plop down at the end of a long day, ready to rot in your bed, wanting to watch something. First you need to pick which platform (Hulu? Instagram Reels? YouTube?), then you start the doom scroll. Twenty minutes later, you've read more plot summaries than a librarian ordering fiction books, and you still haven't committed to anything.

Between fighting the impulse to check your phone, family members distracting you with questions, or quieting that persistent inner monologue creating to-do lists, a lot of us struggle to watch a three-hour blockbuster or a ten-episode season (where even with that, each episode can be a movie itself!).

So maybe give short films a shot. Generally defined as any film under 40 minutes, short films are great for those times you have limited energy to give. They deliver a complete story without demanding your entire evening or feeling like you have to overly invest in a long, winding narrative.

From the Festival Circuit to Your Screen

An easy way to watch short films is on Kanopy. Available with your library card, Kanopy offers streaming movies, documentaries, television programs, and animations that you can watch from home on your TV.

Kanopy’s collection is especially worth exploring if you enjoy discovering films outside the usual Hollywood releases, like independent and international cinema. Short films are also a great way to explore something unfamiliar, as you take a chance on something new without much commitment.

Check out these highlighted short films on Kanopy Streaming, but you can view the complete offerings here:

List created by CCPL_Database

View Full List

Participate in the Manhattan Short Film Festival

Interested in seeing more short films?

The library is once again a host venue for the Manhattan Short Film Festival, an international film festival that turns audiences around the world into the judges.

During the festival, audiences in venues across the globe watch the same selection of 10 finalist short films. These films represent a range of countries, genres, subjects, and filmmaking styles.

After watching the finalists, audience members cast ballots for their favorite film and favorite actor, with votes from participating venues around the world combined to determine the festival’s winners.

Join us at the library at the end of September to watch this year’s finalists, choose your favorites, and add your vote to those cast by film lovers around the world.

Check out this year's finalists:

https://www.manhattanshort.com/downloads/manhattan_short_flyer_2026_85x11_back.pdf