Citing sources correctly is an essential factor of any research paper. Among others, movies are no exception. If you use a film as a source for your paper, it is imperative that you cite the source correctly. The American Psychological Association (APA) gives specific guidelines for formatting APA film citations. This article provides a comprehensive overview of formatting an APA film citation in APA style.
In a Nutshell: APA film citation
- APA film citation refers to a film source formatted according to the APA style guide.
- The in-text citation entails the last name of the director(s) and the production year.
- The reference entry entails the last name of the director(s) and the first name initial, the production year, the title of the film, and the production company.
For an overview of all our APA examples, you can look at this page.
Definition: APA film citation
The APA citation style is widely applied and used in the fields of academic disciplines such as social sciences. There are specific guidelines to follow to cite sources correctly. An APA film citation refers to citing and referencing movies within a research paper according to APA guidelines. Adhering to these rules allows you to properly acknowledge ideas, theories, and works of other authors, thus, ensuring your paper keeps to an ethical and professional standard.
The APA film citation format
The subsequent sections will illustrate the format for both reference entries and in-text citations of APA film citations and provide examples.
- Format of a reference entry:
Director’s Last name, First initial. (Director). (Year). Title of the film [Film]. Production Company.
- Format of an in-text citation:
When citing a film in APA style within the text, the director’s last name and the production year should be included in brackets. If the director is mentioned in the text, include the year in brackets.
Examples of APA press release citation
Here are some examples of how to format the APA press release citation in your work:
Examples of reference entries:
- Johnson, O. (Director). (2005). Breaking the Habit [Film]. Foreword Studios.
- Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Film]. Warner Bros.
Examples of in-text citations:
If the director is mentioned in the text:
- According to Johnson (2005)…
- According to Nolan (2010), dreams can be infiltrated.
If the director is not mentioned in the text:
- (Johnson, 2005)
- Dreams can be infiltrated (Nolan, 2010).
FAQs
If the name of the director is missing, you should include the name of the production company instead. This applies to both the in-text citation and the reference entry.
If the film has been watched online, the URL of the website or the streaming service should be included at the end of the reference entry.
Example
Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Film]. Warner Bros. Retrieved from Netflix.
Yes. If you made a reference only to a specific scene, you can add a time stamp to the in-text citation.
Example
(Nolan, 2010, 1:05:03).
