COVID-19, Jan. 6 Insurrection Among Topics Explored in Documentary Shorts Contenders

57 DAYS

This short centers on Julio Lumbreras, who was one of the first patients to enter the ICU in Spain with COVID-19. The film follows his 57 days in the ICU through his phone messages with his family.

AGUILAS

Directed by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre, this documentary already has won awards at many festivals, including SXSW. It chronicles one of the searches along the border in Arizona, where an estimated one out of five missing migrants are found.

AIN’T NO TIME FOR WOMEN

On the eve of the presidential election in Tunis, a group of women gather at a hair salon as it transforms into a town square showcasing the country’s turmoil. This short was written and directed by Sarra El-Abed.

AUDIBLE

Directed by Matthew Ogens, Audible follows football player Amaree McKenstry-Hall and his teammates at the Maryland School for the Deaf as they attempt to defend their winning streak while dealing with the loss of a close friend.

BREE WAYY: PROMISE WITNESS REMEMBRANCE

Dawn Porter’s documentary showcases how the art world responded to the death of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in her apartment on March 13, 2020.

A BROKEN HOUSE

Syrian architect Mohamad Hafez gets a one-way ticket to the U.S., but when he starts missing his homeland, he begins to sculpt miniatures of the Damascus cityscape. Jimmy Goldblum directs.

CAMP CONFIDENTIAL: AMERICA’S SECRET NAZIS

Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan directed this documentary about a group of young Jewish refugees who are sent to a secret POW camp near Washington, D.C., only to find that the prisoners are Hitler’s top scientists.

CODED: THE HIDDEN LOVE OF J.C. LEYENDECKER

Doc filmmaker Ryan White (2014’s The Case Against 8) returns with Coded, which tells the story of legendary illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, a gay man who filled his advertisements with LGBTQ imagery.

DAY OF RAGE: HOW TRUMP SUPPORTERS TOOK THE U.S. CAPITOL

The New York Times used thousands of videos — many from social media — and recovered police audio of the U.S. Capitol insurrection in an attempt to chronicle what happened on Jan. 6 and why. David Botti and Malachy Browne direct.

THE DOLL

A 35-year-old father consents to the marriage of his 14-year-old daughter, but he soon grapples with his decision. Directed by Elahe Esmaili.

DON’T GO TELLIN’ YOUR MOMMA

This doc won the nonfiction short film jury award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; New Jersey rapper Topaz Jones co-directed alongside Jason Sondock and Simon Davis. It’s about how Chicago teachers in the ’70s developed Black-centered teaching materials — including flashcards featuring the Black ABCs.

FROM DEVIL’S BREATH

This documentary short by director Orlando Von Einsiedel tells the stories of the survivors of the deadly 2017 wildfires in Portugal and a scientific discovery that may be crucial to saving the planet. Leonardo DiCaprio produced.

H.A.G.S. (HAVE A GOOD SUMMER)

In this nine-minute film, director Sean Wang calls his friends from middle school to see what everyone has been up to.

JOE BUFFALO

In Amar Chebib’s short documentary, the focus is on Joe Buffalo, who was born into a family of Samson Cree in Alberta, Canada. Joe faces his childhood trauma and addiction and becomes a skateboarding pro.

LE FRÈRE

Le Frère tells the story of Kaïs, who is paralyzed but still dreams he is the hero of his favorite manga alongside his two brothers, one a bodybuilder and the other a ninja.

THE LAST CRUISE

The Last Cruise chronicles the COVID-19 outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which became a big story at the beginning of the pandemic. Seven hundred people were infected on board. Hannah Olson directs.

LYNCHING POSTCARDS: “TOKEN OF A GREAT DAY”

From 1880 to 1968, public lynchings were often commemorated with the printing of postcards, which were then used by Black activists to expose racist violence in the U.S. Christine Turner directs this documentary short.

MAMA

Director Pablo de la Chica follows Mama Zawadi, who lives with her baby chimps in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, which hosts armed militia and poachers and is one of the world’s most violent places.

MILK FACTORY

Corinne May Botz directs this documentary short about a lactation room in the U.S. Congress Longworth House Building and how working mothers bond in the Capitol lounge.

MISSION: HEBRON

Six former Israeli soldiers, who began their required army service at age 18, detail their experience as young men stationed in the Palestinian city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL

Ben Proudfoot’s short centers on Lusia “Lucy” Harris, who played for the Houston Angels and is one of the greatest living women’s basketball players. Harris won three national trophies and scored the first basket in women’s Olympic basketball during the 1976 Summer Games.

R.I.P. T-SHIRTS

R.I.P. T-Shirts takes a look at gun violence through the eyes of the owner of a small T-shirt shop in Washington, D.C.

SNOWY

This 13-minute documentary asks whether a 4-inch-long pet turtle named Snowy can truly be happy living in isolation in a family’s basement.

TAKEOVER

In 1970, Puerto Rican activists took over a New York City hospital to fight for equal health care for all. Emma Francis-Snyder directs.

TEAM MERYLAND

In Team Meryland, 12-year-old boxer Meryland Gonzalez trains to be crowned the 2019 Junior Olympics Boxing Champion.

THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR

Elizabeth and Gulistan Mirzaei examine the life of Afghan refugees from the perspective of a young man named Shaista.

WHAT YOU’LL REMEMBER

After years of moving from apartments to couches to shelters, a family settles into housing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and discovers that a house doesn’t always feel like home.

YOUR STREET

Güzin Kar wrote and directs the short about a desolate street in Bonn, Germany, which bears the name of a child who did not survive a terrorist attack.

This story first appeared in a November stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.