The articles analyses contemporary Russian short-length films.In the “Short Film and Cinematic Process”section, the shorts are compared tofull-length films, revealing such basic typological features of shorts as greaterfreedom in choosing a subject, broad opportunities for experiments with thespecific genre characteristics and with the selection of the means of expression,a shorter distance between the film and the viewer due to digital technologiesand the availability of online movie platforms. In the section “Russian ShortFilms in the Context of World Trends”, the authors of the article compareRussian short films of recent years and their foreign counterparts and come tothe conclusion that domestic films are chaster, their authors do not raise radicalfeminist issues, do not aim to shock the viewer by provocative social dramas.The section “Russian Short-length films: Quality Criteria”, substantiates the ideaabout a specific contribution of the best term and graduation works of studentsand recent graduates of the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematographynamed after S. Gerasimov to the modern achievements of domestic shorts.In the sections “Audience hits: the formula for success”, “Gender and familyproblems in Russian short-length films”, “Crime comedy as a critical aspect ofthe perception of reality” the authors undertake a case study of short films andoutline the following problematic areas addressed by modern Russian short filmdirectors: growing up and choosing a life path, gender problems, anthropology offamily and parenthood, interrogative rhetoric and new sentimentality, the searchfor national identity, critical and ironic aspects of the perception of reality. Thearticle has a sufficient degree of relevance and scientific novelty, since modernRussian short films have not been the subject of special research until now.