Turabian · Film
How to cite a film in Turabian
A film citation credits a feature film or documentary as a work, usually through its director and studio. The classic mistakes are citing the platform you streamed it on as the publisher, and using the upload year of a streaming copy instead of the release year.
Worked example · Turabian
Lovelace, Ada, dir. The Replication Crisis. Example Studios, 2023. Film.
Rendered with the official Turabian style file from a placeholder source (reserved example DOI and domain), so the format is exactly what the style produces. In text: Numbered notes with a bibliography, in the student-focused Chicago tradition.
What to collect before you cite a film
- The film title
- The director (and producers, where the style wants them)
- The release year
- The production company or studio
- The format or platform, if your style prints it
Have a DOI? Generate the reference instantly
Journal articles, many books and reports carry a DOI. Paste it and get the Turabian entry from the same engine that produced the example above.
Citing a whole thesis, not one source?
CiteDash keeps your bibliography in Turabian automatically, verifies every citation against a real paper, and compiles to DOCX, PDF or LaTeX.
Citing a film in Turabian: FAQ
Is the director the author?
Most styles put the director in the creator position with a role label. Some formats credit producers as well; the style's audiovisual rules decide.
Do I cite the streaming service?
The work is identified by its studio and release year. Mention the platform only when your style asks for the viewing medium or the copy differs from the original release.
How do I cite one scene?
Cite the film in the reference list and pinpoint with a timestamp in text, the audiovisual equivalent of a page number.
What does the in-text citation look like in Turabian?
Numbered notes with a bibliography, in the student-focused Chicago tradition.
Is the example on this page hand-written?
No. It is rendered by the same citation engine and official CSL style file CiteDash uses for full thesis bibliographies, from a clearly-marked placeholder source, and a test re-renders it on every release so the page can never drift from the engine.