How to Cite Films and Documentaries in APA Style

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Citing films and documentaries

Citing short and full-length feature films is similar to citing TV shows (link). A number of referencing styles require you to include the name of the film director, producer, distributor and year of release. This also applies to the APA referencing system.

Based on the APA style guide, we recommend you use the following structure.

APA Film and Documentary citation format:

Producer Last Name, Initials. (Producer), & Director Last Name, Initials. (Director). (Year). Film title [Motion picture]. Country of origin: Studio.

Examples:

Welles, O. (Producer and Director). (1941). Citizen Kane [Motion Picture]. USA: RKO Radio Pictures.
Ruddy, A. (Producer), & Coppola, F. (Director). (1972). The Godfather [Motion Picture]. USA: Paramount Pictures.
Thomas, E. (Producer), & Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Motion Picture]. USA: Legendary Pictures.