Short Term 12

Short Term 12
Short Term 12 Theatrical Poster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDestin Daniel Cretton
Written byDestin Daniel Cretton
Based onShort Term 12 (short)
by Destin Daniel Cretton
Produced by
  • Maren Olson
  • Asher Goldstein
  • Joshua Astrachan
  • Ron Najor
Starring
CinematographyBrett Pawlak
Edited byNat Sanders
Music byJoel P. West
Production
companies
Distributed byCinedigm
Release dates
  • March 10, 2013 (2013-03-10) (SXSW)
  • August 23, 2013 (2013-08-23) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000[2]
Box office$2.3 million[3]

Short Term 12 is a 2013 American independent drama film written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. It is adapted from Cretton's short film of the same name, produced in 2009. The film stars Brie Larson as Grace Howard, a young supervisor of a group home for troubled teenagers. The film was the first leading performance of Larson's career.

Cretton based Short Term 12 on his own experience working in a group facility for teenagers. He wrote and produced a short film exploring this and later adapted it into a feature-length screenplay. While Larson and John Gallagher, Jr. won their roles after auditioning through Skype, most of the children featured in the film were cast through open casting calls. Filming took place over twenty days in Los Angeles, California in September 2012.

Short Term 12 premiered on March 10, 2013 at South by Southwest, where it won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards for a Narrative Feature. The film was theatrically released in the United States on August 23, 2013, by Cinedigm. Critics praised its realism and intimacy, and especially Larson's performance and Cretton's screenplay and direction. The film is considered one of the best of 2013, appearing on several critics' year-end lists. It was listed by the National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten Independent Films of 2013. It earned three Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best Female Lead for Larson.

  1. ^ "Short Term 12 (15)". Verve Pictures. British Board of Film Classification. September 13, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  2. ^ Script To Screen Short Term 12
  3. ^ "Short Term 12 (2013)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 13, 2013.