APA Movie Citations | Format & Examples
Movies and documentaries often provide valuable insights about topics that are common in APA writing. For example, they might include scientific evidence, qualitative research, or examples of social issues and psychological phenomena.
APA documents that use ideas from movies need APA movie citations. The APA citation guidelines for movies are slightly different from APA journal article citations or APA book citations.
- APA in-text citations for movies include the director’s last name and the year of release. Quotation citations also have a timestamp.
- APA reference page entries include the director, year, title, and production company.
| In-text citations | Reference list entry |
|---|---|
| Inside Out 2 explores how emotions affect the development of an adolescent’s Sense of Self (Mann, 2024). |
Mann, K. (Director). (2024). Inside out 2 [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios.
|
The examples below and QuillBot’s free APA Citation Generator can help you write clear and accurate APA movie citations. Our Notepad can also help you to effectively take notes online and keep track of relevant source information.
APA reference entries for movies
APA reference page entries for movies have the following elements:
Director’s name. (Director). (year). Title in sentence case and italics [Film]. Production Company.
Start with the director’s last name, and then provide the first and middle (if applicable) initials (e.g., Coen, J.). Then, in parentheses, write the word “Director.”
For the title, use sentence case by only capitalizing the first word, proper nouns, and the first word of a subtitle (if applicable). Add the label “Film” in square brackets before the period.
Films in other languages
If you cite a film that was translated into the language of your paper, write the title in the original language. In square brackets after the original title, write the translated title in sentence case but without italics. The label “Film” goes in a separate set of square brackets.
Special versions of films
In APA reference page entries, it’s only necessary to specify the format (e.g., DVD) when you’re citing a special or extended version. In this situation, add those details inside the square brackets that say “Film.” Use a semicolon to separate “Film” and those details. Abbreviate “edition” with “ed.”
APA in-text citations for movies
When you paraphrase or summarize the movie in the main text, cite the director’s last name and the release year. For narrative citations (where the director is part of a signal phrase), place the year in parentheses after the director’s name. In parenthetical citations, place the author and year together in parentheses separated by a comma.
| Narrative citation | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|
| Waititi (2016) showed the impact of the foster care system on Ricky’s ability to form secure attachments to his new caregivers. | Bella used reverse psychology to quell Ricky’s repeated attempts to run away (Waititi, 2016). |
Timestamps in APA movie quotations
If you quote an exact line from the text, the in-text citation should include a timestamp of when the quotation begins. (You do not need to include a time range like MLA movie citations.) The APA timestamp format is h:mm:ss. Omit the hour in timestamps for 59 minutes or less.
| Narrative citation | Parenthetical citation |
|---|---|
| Waititi (2016) illustrated Ricky’s tough exterior through deadpan dialogue, such as “Uncle, you’re basically a criminal now, but on the bright side, you’re famous” (1:10:40). | For Ricky’s birthday, Bella created a song with the line “You are a teenager, and you’re good as gold” (Waititi, 2016, 45:15). |
APA movie citations for multiple directors
When a film has two or more directors, use the APA citation format for sources with multiple authors.
- For movies with two directors, include both names in the reference entry separated by an ampersand. Also use an ampersand in parenthetical citations.
- For movies with three or more directors, include all names in the reference entry. In the in-text citations, use the first director’s last name and “et al.”
| 2 directors | Reference:
Rae, N., & Patton, A. (Directors). (2024). Daughters [Film]. Object & Animal.
|
| Narrative in-text citation: Rae and Patton (2024) showed that… | |
| Parenthetical in-text citation: (Rae & Patton, 2024) | |
| 3+ directors | Reference:
Anders, A., Rockwell, A., Rodriguez, R., & Tarantino, Q. (Directors). (1995). Four rooms [Film]. A Band Apart.
|
| Narrative in-text citation: Anders et al. (1995) … | |
| Parenthetical in-text citation: (Anders et al., 1995) |
Frequently asked questions about APA movie citations
- How do you write a title in an APA film citation?
-
To write a title in an APA film citation on the references page, use italics and sentence case. Only capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns.
APA film title example
APA film title example Wardle, T. (Director). (2018). Three identical strangers [Film]. CNN Films.These guidelines for titles in APA movie citations only apply to APA reference page entries. Film titles are not part of APA in-text citations.
If you mention a movie in the main text of a paper, use italics and title case (e.g., Three Identical Strangers). Capitalize all major words and minor words that are four letters or longer (e.g., “With”).
QuillBot’s Notepad can help you take notes online to keep track of relevant source information. You can also use QuillBot’s free Citation Generator to create APA film citations.
