The Lazy Filmmaker: Don’t Treat Documentary Runtime Like a Business Model
Oh gosh, I’ve been wanting to write about this topic for some time, so here it is: There’s an unfortunate trend creeping into filmmaking these days: documentaries getting stretched, padded, and bloated, not because the story needs two hours, but because someone thinks a longer runtime is their ticket to a theatre screening and a payday.
Maybe it’s a consequence of some new filmmakers thinking they can hit it big, fast.
Let’s be blunt: padding a film just to hit a “feature length” target is lazy storytelling disguised as strategy.
We recently completed an agreement with PBS for our short documentary Saving The Night Caller. Its runtime is 19 minutes and 44 seconds. The great part….. PBS approached WorkCabin Films, not the other way around. You get these kinds of opportunities by always commiting to quality. If you enter film festivals, only enter annual, reputable, in-person film festivals, and not the flood of low-quality money-making schemes that are the monthly pay-to-get-laurels and pay-to-get-Oscar-like-Trophies online ‘festivals’ that now flood film submission websites like FilmFreeway.
If your story is only strong enough to carry 20 minutes or 50 minutes, no amount of extra B-roll, drawn-out interviews, or slow-motion filler is going to magically make two hours of it worthy of a theatrical run. Audiences aren’t fooled, and festivals certainly aren’t. A long film isn’t an impressive one…..it’s often just a long one.
Here’s the hard truth gleaned from years of filmmaking experience:
Runtime is not a currency.
Runtime is not a marketing plan.
Runtime is definitely not what makes a film good.
What matters (what actually gets you noticed) is tight editing, a compelling arc, emotional truth, and respect for the viewer’s time. A 35-minute film with purpose will always hit harder than a two-hour film built on fluff.
If your end goal is a theatre, great. But earn the theatre with quality, not minutes.
Because in the end, the filmmakers who obsess over length end up with long films.
The filmmakers who obsess over story end up with unforgettable ones.
- Here’s to a new year of conservation storytelling - January 5, 2026
- Film Festivals and Credibility: A Simple Rule of Thumb for Filmmakers - December 18, 2025
- CBC Radio Interview About Saving The Night Caller Documentary - December 15, 2025
