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Guinness World Records lists Soldier Boy as the shortest feature film classified: it runs for seven seconds. That is a specific record category, not proof of a universal shortest movie across every kind of film.
What is the shortest movie?
According to Guinness World Records’ listing for the shortest feature film classified, the answer is Soldier Boy, a seven-second film directed by Les Sholes. Guinness identifies it as a U.S. film from 2004 and says it premiered on 18 March 2005 at the Empire Arts Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
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Why the category matters
“Shortest movie” can refer to different kinds of records: a classified feature, a short film eligible under a particular awards rule, or another category entirely. The Guinness entry establishes Soldier Boy as the shortest feature film classified in its record category; it does not establish one universally recognized shortest film across every format and definition.
How awards rules distinguish short films from features
The Academy’s 2026 short-film rule
For the 99th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as an original motion picture running 40 minutes or less, including all credits. This is an eligibility definition for that Academy award, not a global standard or a minimum running time. The rules also exclude certain works, including previews and advertising films, substantially re-edited material from completed, publicly exhibited features, and work originally created as episodic television. See the 99th Academy Awards live-action short-film rules.
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The Academy’s feature-length threshold in 2018
In a 2018 Best Picture eligibility announcement, the Academy said a feature-length motion picture had to run for more than 40 minutes under its rules. That threshold belongs to the Academy’s stated eligibility context and should not be treated as a universal definition. The Academy’s 2018 Best Picture eligibility announcement provides that dated criterion.
Shortest and smallest are different records
A film’s physical size is not its running time. Guinness identifies IBM Research Laboratories’ A Boy and His Atom as the smallest stop-motion film: it was made from 242 frames, each measuring 45 by 25 nanometres, and runs for 60 seconds. That record concerns the size of the frames, not the shortest duration. See the Guinness record for the smallest stop-motion film.
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What the seven-second record does—and does not—tell you
The direct answer is seven seconds, for Soldier Boy in Guinness World Records’ “shortest feature film classified” category. The available record and awards-rule definitions do not settle a broader claim about the shortest movie of every possible kind. Guinness also notes that records can change and that updates may not appear online immediately, so its listing is the place to check for the latest holder.
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