How to Cite a Movie in APA Style | Format & Examples

This article reflects the APA 7th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 6th edition guidelines.

To cite a movie in APA Style, list its director(s) in the author position and the production company as publisher. The title is written in sentence case and italicized, followed by the label “Film” in square brackets.

The in-text citation includes the last name of the director, and the year. If you are referring to a specific quote or scene from the movie, add a timestamp to direct the reader to the relevant part.

APA format Last name, Initials. (Director). (Year). Movie title [Film]. Production Company.
APA reference entry Scott, R. (Director). (1979). Alien [Film]. Brandywine Productions.
APA in-text citation (Scott, 1979, 0:45:14)

The citation format for TV shows is slightly different.

Citing movies in different formats

In general, you don’t need to specify the format in which you watched the film. However, if you are discussing a specific version of the film (for example, if you refer to the special features of a DVD), you can specify the version in the citation.

Lanthimos, Y. (Director). (2015). The lobster [Film; DVD release]. Film4.

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Where to find source information for a movie citation

The source information you need for your citation can usually be found in the movie’s end credits or on the packaging for a physical release. Otherwise, you can check on IMDb.

APA movie source info

Information on the production company can be found further down this page, under the heading “Company Credits.”

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Caulfield, J. (2022, June 16). How to Cite a Movie in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved November 27, 2023, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/movie/

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Jack Caulfield

Jack is a Brit based in Amsterdam, with an MA in comparative literature. He writes for Scribbr about his specialist topics: grammar, linguistics, citations, and plagiarism. In his spare time, he reads a lot of books.