Strong Female Leads
Films in this collection
9 films · 2h 5m
Portrait
by Keir Siewert
13m
A model meets an abusive predatory photographer
Details
Only The Lonely
by Clare Holman
17m
When an old lady loses her beloved husband, life becomes intolerable
Details
Struck
by Aurora Fearnley
14m
A female jogger returns to the scene of a crime looking for closure
Details
Annie Waits
by Marnie Paxton
9m
A woman's story of lust, disappointment and waiting for 'The One'
Details
Him & Her
by Abigail Scollay
14m
Highschool sweethearts hit a crossroads, when Alex starts embracing himself
Details
Embers
by Tom Ganley
19m
A woman waits for her date to arrive, and he is not as expected
Details
Myrtle
by Patricia McCormack
14m
A mother with one meal to prepare and no way out
Details
Damage Control
by AJ Vaage
10m
Shit hits the fan when a beloved comedian is accused of sexual assault
Details
Tea For Two
by Mark Brennan
15m
Two tea shop owners eagerly try to hook up unsuspecting guests
Details
Films held together by what their women refuse to perform.
The phrase “strong female lead” has become a marketing label so worn-out it almost means its opposite. Hollywood uses it to sell films where a woman holds a gun. Streaming services use it to bundle anything with a female protagonist into a tidy genre. We mean something else by it.
The shorts in this collection were chosen because their protagonists carry weight without performing the carrying. They’re not action figures with feelings; they’re people. Each one is built around a moment of refusal, a refusal to make herself smaller, more legible, easier to manage.
If you arrived here looking for “short films with strong female leads,” we hope you stay for what’s underneath the search query. Real cinema, made by filmmakers who trust their women to do something more interesting than win.
Frequently asked
What makes a “strong female lead” in a short film?
The form rewards interiority. A short film has fifteen or twenty minutes to convince you that a person’s life is worth caring about, and the films that pull it off do it through specificity rather than spectacle. The protagonists in this collection don’t announce their strength. They reveal it through what they choose not to do.
How long is the whole collection?
Just over two hours in total, about the runtime of a feature film. Most films sit in the ten-to-twenty-minute range; watch the whole collection in one sitting or pick one film as a quick interlude.
Are these films free to watch?
Yes. Every film on Klipist is free to watch, in full, on any device. No account needed, though signing up lets you keep a watchlist.
More collections you might like
See all collections
Point of No Return
Crime and thriller shorts that turn on a single choice. Once it’s made, there’s no way back.
Open collection
Awkward Silences
Comedies that stay in the room a little too long. The laugh comes from the silence after.
Open collection
Loose Ends
Mystery shorts that hand you a question and let you sit with it.
Open collectionKeep exploring
More collections
Crime and thriller shorts that turn on a single choice. Once it’s made, there’s no way back.
Comedies that stay in the room a little too long. The laugh comes from the silence after.
Mystery shorts that hand you a question and let you sit with it.
Have a short film?
Share it with the world.
Klipist is where short films find their audience. Hand-curated, independently run, watched in all 193 countries of the world. If you’ve made something great, we want to see it.