A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Student: 10 Famous Directors and their Early Works

Student films are often overlooked as amateur, receiving little to no attention, even within the film community, but these short films often allow young directors to showcase their abilities before they have the financing for feature-length projects. While many well-established directors have made it big without attending film school, these programs, and the films they produce, have launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s most successful filmmakers, many of whose work still bears the mark of their years at university.

“The Big Shave” (1967)

dir. Martin Scorsese

A born and bred New Yorker, Martin Scorsese attended college at NYU—after failing out of seminary. His first two student films, “What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?” (1963) and “It’s Not Just You, Murray!” (1964), were shot on 16 mm film in black and white. In his second short, Scorsese began to explore subjects which would become lifelong fascinations of his, such as masculinity and the mob. However, it is his final student film, and his first in color that brings Scorsese’s vision of blood and violence to the screen. “The Big Shave” centers on a young man, meticulously applying shaving cream in a pristine white bathroom before taking a razor to his skin, bloodying both his face and the bathroom. “The Big Shave” has the simplest visuals of Scorsese’s short films, but its scathing critique of the violence of the American war machine is revealed through the film’s alternate title: “Viet ‘67”.

Available here.

“Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times)” (1967) 

dir. David Lynch

“Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times)” consists of a single animated clip, looped six times to the sounds of sirens. The film was made with a budget of only $200, and won the Dr. William S. Biddle Cadwalader Memorial Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts’ experimental painting and sculpture contest, where it premiered. The focus of the film is a painting by David Lynch of six abstracted m˘¿en. The film brings movement to an otherwise still image, bringing the men to life through sickness. It is the moment of regurgitation that marks both the beginning and the end of the moving picture. Order and disorder both dominate the narrative, and “Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times)” introduces themes and structures that will become key markers of Lynch’s later works like Eraserhead (1977).

Available here.

“From the Drain” (1967)

dir. David Cronenberg

The first two additions to Cronenberg’s body of work were both shot on 16 mm film. His first student film, “Transfer” (1966), was made while at the University of Toronto, and follows a therapy session between a psychiatrist and his patient. “Transfer” is markedly different from Cronenberg’s signature style, and it is not until his second student film, “From the Drain” (1967), that his affinity for body horror makes its way to the screen. “From the Drain” focuses on two men in a bathtub. The men are in a mental institution and implied to be veterans of a conflict. Through the film’s dialogue and violent end, Cronenberg explores the brutality of war, and the toll it takes on both mind and body. 

Available here.

“A Field of Honor” (1973)

dir. Robert Zemeckis

Years before he went on to direct box office hits like Forrest Gump and the Back to the Future franchise, Robert Zemeckis was a student at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. While at USC, he made “A Field of Honor” (1973), an absurdist short following a veteran suffering from PTSD as he attempts to navigate life once back in his small town. The film satirizes the state of the country at the time, and the war it was involved in. “A Field of Honor” caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who’d become Zemeckis’ mentor and the executive producer of many of his films. The film also won a Special Jury (Dramatic) prize at the Student Academy Awards.

Available here.

“The Dirk Diggler Story” (1988)

dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson started his first film production while only a senior in high school, funding “The Dirk Diggler Story” with money from his job cleaning cages at a pet store. The mockumentary follows a well-endowed pornographic actor, Dirk Diggler. The character of Dirk Diggler was based on John Holmes, and clearly takes inspiration from Holmes’ documentary, Exhausted, even adopting aspects of the dialogue in the film. “The Dirk Diggler Story” was later adapted into a narrative feature-length film, and Anderson’s breakout hit, Boogie Nights (1997).

Available here.

“American History” (1992)

dir. Trey Parker

Before he was known for satirical productions like The Book of Mormon and Team America: World Police, Trey Parker was a student at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met his creative partner and frequent collaborator, Matt Stone, in a film class. It was there, while making his short film “American History” (1992), Parker first used the cut paper animation technique, which he and Stone would later use in their hit show, South Park. The paper animation in “American History” is overlaid with a narration of the country’s history by his roommate, and future South Park animator, Junichi Nishimura. The film exhibits many early markers of the comedy and style which would become staples of Parker’s work. “American History” went on to win a Silver Medal for Animation at the 1993 Student Academy Awards.

Available here.

“Bottle Rocket” (1994)

dir. Wes Anderson

It was in a playwriting class at the University of Texas-Austin that Wes Anderson met his longtime collaborator, Owen Wilson. While in college, the pair co-wrote a short film, “Bottle Rocket” (1994), which Anderson directed and Wilson starred in. “Bottle Rocket” was shot across Texas in monochrome 16 mm film, premiering two years after filming at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994. While showing at Sundance, the film caught the attention of a film producer, James Brooks, who offered to finance a feature-length version of the film. Bottle Rocket (1996), despite not finding commercial success, was well-received by critics, and launched the careers of both Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers.

Available here.

“Small Deaths” (1996)

dir. Lynne Ramsay 

Lynne Ramsay’s debut short film, “Small Deaths” (1996), was the director’s graduation project from the National Film and Television School in England. The film consists of three vignettes, centering on a young girl in Glasgow, Ramsay’s hometown. Ramsay’s first short film already displayed her signature pared-down style, both in its simplistic cinematography and naturalistic sound design. “Small Deaths” won the Short Film Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996, and cemented her position as one of Britain’s most promising and imaginative young filmmakers.

Available here.

“Peluca” (2002)

dir. Jared Hess

Director Jared Hess made the short film “Peluca” (2002) for an assignment while attending Brigham Young University, though Hess is better known for the feature film “Peluca” was made into, Napoleon Dynamite (2004). “Peluca” follows Seth, who later becomes Napoleon in the feature-length version of the film, as he skips school with his friends, Pedro and Giel. Hess contains his larger-than-life characters to ordinary, familiar situations for the entirety of the film’s running time of almost nine minutes. The simple settings and storyline of “Peluca” allow the absurdity of Hess’s colorful characters to shine on screen, even in 16 mm black-and-white film.

Available here.

“Locks” (2008)

dir. Ryan Coogler

Before he was known for film franchises like Creed and Black Panther, Ryan Coogler was a college football player, taking as many film courses as he could manage between training and the bachelor’s he was pursuing in finance. After college, Coogler was accepted into a master’s program at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. It was there that Coogler would begin making films. He directed four short films during his time at USC, three of which were nominated for various awards. “Locks” (2008), the first entry in Coogler’s filmography, was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and received the Dana and Albert Broccoli Award for Filmmaking Excellence. Coogler’s debut short film centers around a haircut and one man’s journey to his barber shop. “Locks” is almost silent with no dialogue to guide it, yet its narrative remains clear. Coogler offers sharp political commentary, exploring themes of family, police violence, and the power of appearance all in the film’s running time of just over six minutes, each packed with power and emotion.

Available here.