Linked together films

I find it really interesting and creative when a film has subplots for multiple characters that all have a link together. It shows insight into separate people's lives while keeping them all together in the same main plot.

An example of this happening in a feature film is Love Actually. There are many subplots to this film, but all based around the same event and storyline. The characters all come in together at parts of the film and are all related somehow, but without making it the same repeated plot and straightforward. I love how Love Actually gives the characters separate lives and thoughts but doesn't lose them in the main plot.

If I were to adapt this technique for my short film- especially for my idea of showing the lives of multiple people- I would feature them in minor roles around the point of one person's life. I plan to have an opening scene like the ending of Love Actually where a grid forms with clips of all the people- this gives the audience an idea of all the people featured in minor roles. Then I would show them in the background of scenes with my protagonist in or give them a few 5 second scenes of their own to give the audience an insight into their lives, as my title suggests.