How to Cite a Movie: APA, MLA and Chicago Format (2025)

Citing a movie in academic writing is straightforward once you know which role counts as the author in each citation style. In APA and Chicago, the director takes that position. In MLA, the film title comes first. This guide covers all three formats with verified templates, real examples, and the special cases that cause the most confusion.

Quick Answer

To cite a movie in APA 7th edition: Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of film [Film]. Production Company. In MLA 9th edition: Title of Film. Directed by Director Name, Production Company, Year. In Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Director Last Name, First Name, director. Film Title. Production Company, Year. Runtime. The main difference is who leads the citation: APA and Chicago start with the director; MLA starts with the film title.

Why the Director Is Usually the Author

In academic citation, the "author" is whoever bears primary creative or intellectual responsibility for the work. For a film, that is the director. The director makes the key creative decisions about how the film is realised on screen.

There are exceptions. If your paper is specifically about a screenwriter's work, a composer's score, or an actor's performance, MLA allows you to begin the citation with that contributor instead. The rule is: lead with whoever is most relevant to your analysis.

APA Format: How to Cite a Movie

APA 7th edition places the director in the author position with the notation "(Director)" after the name. The authoritative guidance is on the APA Style film and television references page.

APA Reference List Template

Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of film in sentence case [Film]. Production Company.

APA Examples

Standard theatrical film:

Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Film]. Warner Bros.

Multiple directors:

Russo, A., & Russo, J. (Directors). (2019). Avengers: Endgame [Film]. Marvel Studios.

Film with multiple production companies:

Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Film]. Warner Bros. / Legendary Pictures / Syncopy.

Foreign language film:

Bong, J.-H. (Director). (2019). Gisaengchung [Parasite] [Film]. CJ Entertainment.

Film watched on a streaming service: APA does not require specifying the streaming platform for films. The production company is sufficient. If the URL is needed for retrieval, add it after the production company.

Director's cut or special edition:

Scott, R. (Director). (1992). Blade Runner: The director's cut [Film; director's cut]. Warner Bros.

APA In-Text Citation

Use the director's last name and year:

(Nolan, 2010)

For a specific scene or quote, add a timestamp:

(Nolan, 2010, 1:24:12)

Key APA Rules for Movies

The director always goes in the author position with "(Director)" in parentheses
Include [Film] in square brackets after the title
Use sentence case for the film title
Separate multiple production companies with slashes
The production company, not the distributor, is listed in the source element

MLA Format: How to Cite a Movie

MLA 9th edition begins the Works Cited entry with the film title, not the director. The director is listed as a contributor after the title. Guidance from Purdue OWL's MLA section and university MLA guides confirms the 9th edition format.

MLA Works Cited Template

Title of Film. Directed by Director Name, Production Company, Year.

MLA Examples

Standard film:

Inception. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Warner Bros., 2010.

Film with notable additional contributors:

Titanic. Directed by James Cameron, performances by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, Paramount Pictures, 1997.

Film cited for a specific contributor's work: If your analysis focuses on an actor's performance rather than the direction, lead with that person:

Winslet, Kate, performer. Titanic. Directed by James Cameron, Paramount Pictures, 1997.

Film on a streaming platform:

Parasite. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, CJ Entertainment, 2019. Netflix.

Director's cut:

Blade Runner. Directed by Ridley Scott, director's cut, Warner Bros., 1992.

MLA In-Text Citation

MLA uses the film title (shortened if long) for in-text citations, since the Works Cited entry begins with the title:

(Inception)

For a specific moment, add a timestamp:

(Inception 1:24:12-1:25:03)

If you begin with a specific contributor rather than the title, use that person's last name:

(Winslet)

Key MLA Rules for Movies

Film title leads the Works Cited entry, in italics
Director is listed after the title as "Directed by First Name Last Name"
Use title case for the film title
Add contributors (actors, composers) only when relevant to your analysis
Streaming platform can be added as an additional container at the end

Chicago Format: How to Cite a Movie

Chicago style (Notes-Bibliography) places the director first, labelled as "director," and includes the runtime. The format differs slightly between footnote and bibliography entry. Purdue OWL's Chicago section provides the framework for audiovisual sources.

Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Footnote

First Name Last Name, director. Film Title. Production Company, Year. Runtime.

Example:

Christopher Nolan, director. Inception. Warner Bros., 2010. 2 hr., 28 min.

Chicago Notes-Bibliography: Bibliography Entry

Last Name, First Name, director. Film Title. Production Company, Year. Runtime. Format or URL (if relevant).

Example:

Nolan, Christopher, director. Inception. Warner Bros., 2010. 2 hr., 28 min.

Film watched on streaming:

Bong, Joon-ho, director. Parasite. CJ Entertainment, 2019. 2 hr., 12 min. Netflix.

With multiple key contributors:

Cameron, James, director. Titanic. Performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Paramount Pictures, 1997. 3 hr., 14 min.

Chicago In-Text (Author-Date)

In the Author-Date system, used in social sciences:

(Nolan 2010)

For a specific moment:

(Nolan 2010, 1:24:12)

Key Chicago Rules for Movies

Director's name leads, labelled "director" after the name
Film title in italics
Runtime is required in Chicago, unlike APA and MLA
Include the format (Blu-ray, streaming service) if it is relevant to the source you used

Comparison Table: APA vs MLA vs Chicago for Movies

Element	APA 7th	MLA 9th	Chicago NB
Citation starts with	Director's last name	Film title	Director's first name
Director notation	(Director) in parentheses	"Directed by"	"director" after name
Film title formatting	Italics, sentence case	Italics, title case	Italics, title case
Format label	[Film] in brackets	Not required	Not required
Production company	Required	Required	Required
Runtime	Not required	Not required	Required
In-text anchor	Director's last name	Film title	Director's last name
Timestamp format	(Director, Year, h:mm:ss)	(Title h:mm:ss)	Footnote with timestamp

Special Cases

Film Watched on a Streaming Service

APA: Streaming platform is not required. Production company is sufficient. If the URL aids retrieval, add it.

MLA: Add the streaming service as a second container after the year:

Parasite. Directed by Bong Joon-ho, CJ Entertainment, 2019. Netflix.

Chicago: Add the platform name and URL after the runtime:

Bong, Joon-ho, director. Parasite. CJ Entertainment, 2019. 2 hr., 12 min. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/81356078.

Foreign Language Film

APA: Include the original title followed by the translated title in square brackets:

Bong, J.-H. (Director). (2019). Gisaengchung [Parasite] [Film]. CJ Entertainment.

MLA: Use the original title or the English title depending on what your paper refers to. If both are relevant, include both.

Chicago: Follow the same logic: original title first, with translated title in brackets if needed.

Film Without a Named Director

If no director is credited, use the producer or another primary contributor in the author position. In MLA, simply begin with the film title and omit the "Directed by" element.

Specific Scene or Quote

In all three styles, add a timestamp when you refer to a specific moment in the film. Use the format that appears in your media player (h:mm:ss or mm:ss depending on film length).

APA in-text example:

(Nolan, 2010, 0:48:30)

MLA in-text example:

(Inception 0:48:30-0:49:12)

Chicago footnote example:

Christopher Nolan, director. Inception. Warner Bros., 2010, 0:48:30.

Documentary

Cite a documentary exactly as you would a feature film. The director takes the primary position in APA and Chicago. In MLA, the title leads. If a documentary is part of a series, treat each episode as a TV episode.

TV Movie vs. Theatrical Film

For a made-for-television film, cite it as you would a TV series episode in APA (using [TV movie] in brackets). In MLA and Chicago, treat it as a film and note the broadcast network or streaming service as the source.

Film Uploaded to YouTube

If you watched a film on YouTube rather than in its original release format, you may cite it as a YouTube video. However, if the film has an official release format (DVD, streaming, theatrical), cite that instead. See our guide to how to cite a YouTube video for the YouTube citation format.

Common Mistakes When Citing Movies

1. Starting APA with the film title

APA places the director in the author position, not the film title. Starting with Inception. (2010) is incorrect. The correct form is Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Film].

2. Forgetting [Film] in APA

APA requires [Film] in square brackets after the title. Without it, the reader cannot identify the source type. This is one of the most common formatting errors in film citations.

3. Using sentence case in MLA

APA uses sentence case for film titles (only first word and proper nouns capitalised). MLA and Chicago use title case (all principal words capitalised). Mixing these up is a reliable signal that the citation style has not been applied carefully.

4. Omitting runtime in Chicago

Chicago requires the runtime of the film in the bibliography entry. APA and MLA do not. Students who use the same template across styles often omit this.

5. Citing IMDb as the source

IMDb is a database, not the original source of the film. Cite the production company and distributor, not the platform where you found the title information. IMDb is useful for looking up details, but it does not belong in the reference entry.

6. Citing Netflix or another streaming service as the production company

Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ are distributors or streaming platforms, not always the production company. Check the film's opening credits or an authoritative database to identify the production company. For original Netflix productions (e.g., Roma), Netflix is both distributor and production company.

FAQ: Citing Movies

Do I need to cite a film I watched in class? Yes, if you reference ideas, scenes, dialogue, or arguments from the film in your writing, you need a citation. The format is the same regardless of how you watched the film.

How do I cite a film I watched on Netflix? In APA, cite the production company and add the URL if needed for retrieval. In MLA, add Netflix as a second container after the year. In Chicago, add the platform name and URL after the runtime.

Should I cite the director or the screenwriter? In most cases, cite the director. If your paper is specifically analysing the script, dialogue, or the screenwriter's contribution, you may lead with the screenwriter in MLA. In APA and Chicago, the director remains in the author position regardless.

How do I cite a specific quote from a film? Include a timestamp in your in-text citation pointing to where the quote appears. In APA: (Director Last Name, Year, timestamp). In MLA: (Film Title timestamp). In Chicago: include the timestamp in the footnote.

How do I cite a film in a different language? In APA, include the original title and the translated title in square brackets: Original Title [Translated Title]. In MLA and Chicago, use whichever title is most relevant to your argument, and include the other in brackets if both are needed.

What if the film has no single director? For films with multiple directors, list all of them in the order they appear in the credits. In APA, connect multiple directors with an ampersand. In MLA and Chicago, list them as "Directed by A and B" or "A and B, directors."

How do I cite a documentary? Use the same format as a feature film. The director leads in APA and Chicago; the title leads in MLA. If the documentary is an episode in a series, treat it as a TV episode rather than a standalone film.

Is it necessary to include where I watched the film? In APA, no, the production company is sufficient. In MLA and Chicago, you can add the streaming platform as an additional container or source element if you watched it online, particularly if the version you accessed differs from the original theatrical release.

Summary

The key to citing a film correctly is knowing which element leads the citation in your style. APA and Chicago put the director first. MLA puts the film title first. APA requires [Film] in brackets and uses sentence case; MLA and Chicago use title case without brackets. Chicago additionally requires the runtime. For specific quotes or scenes, add a timestamp. For streaming versions, the platform can be added as an additional source element in MLA and Chicago.

Keeping Track of Your Sources

If you are analysing several films alongside written sources in a thesis or dissertation, Academly's Citation Manager can help you store and organise citation details across all source types, with RIS export for Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote.

How to Cite a Movie: APA, MLA and Chicago Format