Although it isn’t common to make an APA movie citation in your research paper, there are times when you may need to do so. For example, you may need to create an APA film citation for a documentary about people who suffer from depression or anxiety you used in your psychology research. Therefore, it’s essential to learn how to cite a movie or documentary in APA for your reference page and in-text citations.
How to Cite a Movie APA 7th Edition
When it comes to citing a movie in APA 7 style, you need to find a few different elements like the director, title, year, and studio. Additionally, you include the label ‘film’ in brackets. The basic format for citing a movie in APA format is:
Director, A. A. (Director). (Year). Title of motion picture [Film]. Studio.
APA Movie Citation Examples
Talbot, J. (Director). (2019). The last black man in San Francisco [Film]. Plan B Entertainment & Longshot Features.
Bratt, P. (Director). (2017). Dolores [Film].5 Stick Films.
Wang, W. (Director). (2005). Because of Winn-Dixie [Film]. 20th Century Fox.
Where to Find APA Film Citation Source Information
Just in case you were wondering, finding the information for a movie citation isn’t too hard. You can find it on the DVD or Blu-Ray packaging, the movie credits, or you can look it up on IMDb.
How to Cite a Documentary in APA
While you might cite a major motion picture, it’s more likely that you’ll find yourself creating an APA film citation for a documentary. To cite a documentary in APA, you need the director, title, year, and studio or URL.
Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Documentary title [Film]. Producer or URL
How To Cite a Movie APA – Documentary
Livingston, J. (Director). (1990). Paris is burning [Film]. Art Matters Inc.; BBC Television.
APA Film Citation From Netflix and Other Streaming Services
If the movie is from a media subscription like Netflix or Amazon, the format for the citation is very similar to other films but with a URL.
Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of video [Film]. http://www.xxxxxxxx
APA Streaming Movie Citation Examples
Olivares, G. (Director). (2017). The lighthouse of the orcas (El faro de las orcas) [Film]. https://www.netflix.com/title/80105690
Luna, D. (Director). (2014). Cesar Chavez [Film]. https://www.amazon.com/Cesar-Chavez-Michael-Pe%C3%B1a/
APA Film Citation for YouTube
Since many movies, documentaries, and other video content are now streamed online on YouTube, it’s helpful to know how to cite these sources correctly too. To do so, you should include the URL where the video can be found. Additionally, do not place a period after the URL.
Author or User Name. (Date). Title of video [Video]. Site Name. URL
YouTube Citation Example
Grjngo. (2019, November 12). Quintana: Dead or alive [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube/8b07uR8AClI
How to Cite a Movie APA In-Text
To cite a movie in-text or parenthetically, use the director’s name and year released within parentheses. Just remember every in-text citation should correspond to an entry in the references list.
How to Cite a Movie APA In-Text Examples
Direct Quote: (Tannenbaum, 1974, 14:04)
Paraphrase: (Luna, 2014)
In-Text Citation APA Movie Multiple Producers
The 7th edition of APA formatting removed the use of producers in the in-text and reference citations. Since movies generally only have one main director, you typically won’t come across in-text citations that have multiple directors listed. Therefore, you can follow the format for a typical movie citation.
How to Cite a Movie in APA Perfectly
Now that you know how to create movie citations, you’re prepared to develop APA movie citations with ease. Since you’ve mastered movie citations, you might give APA citations for TV shows a try!
FAQ APA Movie Citation Examples
How do you cite a video APA Style?
To cite a video in APA style, you need to include the author or screen name, date, title, [video], website, and URL. A video citation example:
Author or username. (Date). Video title [Video]. Site Name. URL
How do you cite a movie?
To cite a movie in APA, you need to include the director's name, date, the title of the movie, [film], and the production company or URL, if it is a streaming video. A movie citation looks like:
Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Motion Picture title [Film]. Studio. or URL
How do you cite a Netflix movie in APA?
To cite a movie on Netflix in APA style, you include the URL instead of the studio name. Therefore, you have the author, date, title, [film], and URL. Additionally, there is no period after the URL. A Netflix citation looks like:
Director, D. D. (Director). (Year). Title of video [Film]. http://www.xxxxxxxx
How do you cite a video in a paper?
To create an in-text citation for a video in APA, you include the author's name and the date of the film. For example, for the original Star Wars movie, an APA in-text citation would look like:
(Lucas, 1977)
How do you in text cite a TED talk in APA?
To cite a TED talk in APA, you need to include the name of the speaker, date, title, [video], website, and URL, just like you do for a YouTube Video. A TED talk citation example:
Draven, B. (2016, January). Being mindful of your body [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_draven_being_mindful_of_your_body