For the 17th consecutive year, Shorts HD and Magnolia Pictures present the Oscar-Nominated Short Films, opening on Feb. 25th. With all three categories offered – Animated, Live Action and Documentary – this is your annual chance to predict the winners (and have the edge in your Oscar pool)! A perennial hit with audiences around the country and the world, don’t miss this year’s selection of shorts. The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 27th.
Best Documentary Short Subject
Running time: 160 minutes. Recommended for 16+
Audible
Directed by Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean
Football player Amaree McKenstry-Hall and his Maryland School for the Deaf teammates attempt to defend their winning streak while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. 2021, U.S., DCP, in American Sign Language with closed captions, 39 minutes.
Lead Me Home
Directed by Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk
Conceived to be a cinematic study of contrasts, this film details the lives of several people living on the streets in West Coast cities. By weaving individual stories with aerial vistas, time-lapse photography, and evocative details of contemporary urban life, the film aims to start a national conversation of the alarming and ever-growing issues of people who do not have adequate or consistent shelter. 2021, U.S., DCP, 39 minutes.
The Queen of Basketball
Directed by Ben Proudfoot
Luisa “Lucy” Harris was one of the greatest living women’s basketball players. Despite winning three national trophies, scoring the first basket in women’s Olympic basketball at the 1976 Olympics, and being drafted to the NBA, she had to fight for recognition. 2021, U.S., DCP, 22 minutes.
Three Songs for Benazir
Directed by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
Shaista, a young man who is newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul, struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family. 2021, Afghanistan, DCP, in Pashtu and Dari with English subtitles, 22 minutes.
When We Were Bullies
Directed by Jay Rosenblatt
A mind-boggling coincidence leads the filmmaker to track down his fifth-grade class and their teacher to examine the memory of and complicity in a bullying incidence 50 years ago. 2021, U.S./Germany, DCP, 36 minutes.