DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Rated R (violence, language, and adult themes)
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.
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS (to be offered as one program of 160 minutes)
Audible – Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean, USA, 39 min.
AUDIBLE is a cinematic and immersive coming of age documentary following Maryland School for the Deaf high school athlete Amaree McKenstry and his close friends as they face the pressures of senior year and grappling with the realities of venturing off into the hearing world. Amaree and his teammates take out their frustrations on the football field as they battle to protect an unprecedented winning streak, while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. This is a story about kids who stand up to adversity. They face conflict, but approach the future with hope – shouting to the world that they exist and they matter.
Lead Me Home – Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk, USA, 39 min.
500,000 Americans experience homelessness every night. LEAD ME HOME is a documentary short by Jon Shenk and Pedro Kos that captures the experience from multiple perspectives. This immersive, cinematic film personalizes the overwhelming issue by telling the real-life stories of those going through it as a first step toward challenging uninformed attitudes and outmoded policies and gives the audience a rare, in-depth look at the scale, scope and diversity of unsheltered America today.
The Queen of Basketball – Ben Proudfoot, USA, 22 min.
She is one of the greatest living women’s basketball players. 3 national trophies. Scored the first basket in women’s Olympic basketball at the ‘76 Olympics. Drafted to the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?
Three Songs for Benazir – Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei, Afghanistan, 22 min.
The story of Shaista, a young man who – newly married to Benazir and living in a displacement camp 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. Gulistan and Elizabeth Mirzaei’s remarkable access sheds light on the experience of modern-day Afghans who live, love, and seek space for themselves amid constant instability. Nominated for the 15th Annual Cinema Eye Honors and winner of six jury awards, including Best Short at Full Frame.
When We Were Bullies – Jay Rosenblatt, USA/Germany, 36 min.
A mind-boggling coincidence leads the filmmaker to track down his fifth-grade class and fifth-grade teacher to examine their memory of and complicity in a bullying incident 50 years ago.
Martha’s Vineyard Film Society – 2022 Oscar Contest Ballot
Do you have your favorite Oscar-nominated films? Do you think you know who is going to walk home with an Oscar? Fill out our 2022 Oscar Ballot with your picks of what films will win and be entered for the chance of winning free movies with us for a year! Whoever gets the most categories correct will win a one-year MVFS membership, equivalent to an MVFS Film Enthusiast membership.
Click the link above to fill out the ballot and return it to us b y March 26th through email (maury@mvfilmsociety.com) or mail:
MV Film Society
PO Box 4423
Vineyard Haven, MA 02568
“Big issues tackled in brief films” – Variety
“Unsung but worth your time” – New York Times
