Edmonton Short Film Festival Breaking New Ground for Filmmakers by Sharlene Millang | May 18, 2015 Short films have exploded in popularity in recent years as audiences are looking for their entertainment in smaller, bite sized pieces. With the advent of the internet, users’ attention spans are getting shorter and more demanding, so it should really be no surprise that such genres as documentary short films and dramatic shorts have really taken off and become firmly entrenched in the collective consciousness.