Film critic David Thomson is already saying that awards for short films, documentary and all, should be removed from the main night to make the event crisper.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which gives the most publicized and recognized awards for short films does not seem to distinguish between short films made in the U. S. and those made in “foreign” countries.

There seems to be more recognition for short films in Europe and Asia than in the U.S.

BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts opens its short films awards contest only to shorts made in the U. K. We assume there are enough shorts made there and plenty to interest to sustain such a competition.

There isn’t yet a single extensive treatment of what a short film is; how the form of short film persists and how it is set to flourish in the age of digital film making and distribution.

We want to pursue over the next few months these and related questions on short films. Students at Arcadia University will join us in their semester-long study of the topic.