Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts (2024) review
While there are many complaints about all the streaming platforms out there these days, the fact four (out of five) of this year’s Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts are all available in some manner online proves that there is a positive side to all these options. So, if you have access to Disney+, Paramount+, and YouTube, then you can see most of these nominees. However, like every year, select cities in the U.S. are presenting all of the Oscar-Nominated Shorts categories, leading up to the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 10th.
ShortsTV is responsible for bringing all the Oscar-Nominated Short Films to theaters as of February 16th. All three categories offered – Animated, Live Action, and Documentary – making it possible for you to catch up on all your Oscar-Nominated viewing. In Chicago, you can see the Live-Action and Animation Shorts at the historic Music Box Theatre and the Documentary Shorts at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
Below are my thoughts on this year’s Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts:
THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING
The best part of this 27-minute documentary short from directors Sheila Nevins, Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habezghi is when a news commentator asks an author if books should be banned. Without a beat, her answer is emphatically, “No”. It’s a no-brainer answer, but it’s also a more effective way of saying what should be said than anything else in “The ABCs of Book Banning”. This is a short that predominately relies on school-age children taking viewers to school. Granted, as the short starts we witness footage of 100-year-old Grace Linn’s anti-book banning speech at a Florida school board meeting, but it’s mostly younglings asking obvious questions.
Many of these kids read at a level beyond their age range and show a greater maturity than anyone in authority slapping the following labels on certain books: “Banned”, “Restricted”, or “Challenged”. Granted, most of the current book banning in the U.S. is taking place in Florida and primarily revolving around books dealing with same sex attraction, race, or anything else that makes right-wing prudes uncomfortable. The short consists of basically an A-Z list of books that have been banned and why, followed by clips of children (either sitting at their desk or sitting in a library), wondering out loud why adults don’t want them to read certain books. The problem with this short is the cute and precocious approach it takes. Instead of being informative or digging deep into this serious issue. Instead of taking a strong stance against book banning, we get what is essentially a Public Service Announcement from MTV. (avail. on Paramount+)
RATING: **
ISLAND IN BETWEEN
If this short from directors S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien did anything for me it was to introduce me to the islands of Kinmen – located between Taiwan and China (hence the title). I certainly didn’t know they existed before watching this short. Chiang, who was born in Taiwan and grew up in San Francisco, can be heard both narrating the 20-minute documentary and sharing his recollection of his family history and his recent journey (at the height of COVID-19) to this part of the world.
The 19-minute short, produced by The New York Times Op-Docs, touches on some history, such as the use of Kinmen (under the jurisdiction of Taiwan) and how Taiwan sent men there for mandatory military service. Archival photos and old footage of army drills are shown along with images of Chiang’s family. It’s an introduction to a fascinating subject, but overall this short found me sitting with unanswered questions. I would’ve preferred a feature-length doc that examines the longstanding tensions between Taiwan and mainland China or a feature-length doc that went into more detail about how Kinmen was used in the past and what is presently happening there.
RATING: **
NAI NAI & WAI PO
Probably the most light-hearted and adorable short is “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” which may not be what you’d expect in an Oscar-Nominated Short. Nevertheless, hanging out with director Sean Wang’s grandmothers, Yi Yan Fuei and Zhang Li Hua, is rewarding. The goofy, fun-loving (and fart-loving) pair – one in her 80s and the other in her 90s – have truly infectious personalities and have lived together for some time. I can’t imagine either of my grandmothers living together, let alone sharing the same bed as these two do.
Indeed Wang realizes how rare and unique their living situation is and spent time filming the two in their habitat during the pandemic lockdown. Their daily routines are captured, such as reading the newspaper every day. Both ladies are seemingly up for anything, as they share life philosophies, discuss growing up in poverty, and partake in spontaneous silliness. The 17-minute short found me thinking about how connection can extend human life expectancy and reminding me how loneliness will accelerate us to our final destination. (avail. on Disney+)
RATING: ***
THE LAST REPAIR SHOP
Nestled in Los Angeles for the past 64 years is a musical instrument repair shop that has specifically provided free refurbished instruments for the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is the titular subject of this 40-minute short directed by composer Kris Bowers and Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot (“The Queen of Basketball”, which won an Oscar in this category in 2022), both of whom had their documentary short, “A Concerto is a Conversation” nominated in 2020. While it’s a powerful statement on the profound impact that the arts have in schools and society, what’s most impacting are the personal testimonies that select technicians share throughout the short.
Four student testimonies are associated with different departments (strings, brass, woodwind, and piano) of the repair shop, and therefore four different technicians. Bowers and Proudfoot show viewers how having functional musical instruments available to students, provides them with a sense of purpose and meaning, and often saves them the potential perils of growing up in poverty. The short takes an inspiring turn when we hear from the technicians though. They reflect on how long they’ve worked there, what got them into this line of work, and what they do there. Some of them are or were musicians themselves and all of them have fascinating personal stories. The short winds up being a reminder that there are unsung heroes out there, finding fulfillment in jobs so many don’t even know about. Of course, I wanted to know more about the working relationship between the school district and the repair shop, but this is one of those shorts that makes the most out its 40-minute runtime. (available on Disney+)
RATING: ***
THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK
The most inspiring documentary short revolves around the work that Arlo Washington has been doing in his Arkansas community. As a black business owner of a barber shop, he has taken it upon himself to meet the needs of impoverished individuals that the system has given up on. Washington founded The People Trust, a nonprofit loan institution where 95% of borrowers pay back their loans on time. Many of his clients have nowhere else to go due to their economic status or the color of their skin. He’s a man giving back to the community he’s from, offering knowledge, power, and money to those who previously had no hope.
Directors John Hoffman and Christine Turner introduce us to Washington, capturing him at the barber school he founded or engaging with clients at The People Trust office. He shares that his goal is to “Advance equity, build opportunities, and build community” and he’s a respected member of the community because of his impact on it. We learn that Washington can relate to many of his clients because of his past struggles. We’re also given a geographic lesson from Washington in which he shows how an interstate highway cuts through Little Rock, dividing opportunities and causing disparities. Sure, he’s doing what every lender or bank should be doing, but here Washington is looking at these clients as real people who have past and present challenges with uncertain futures. Regardless, he sees potential and treats each person with respect and dignity, helping them with a plan. The infuriating albeit inspiring stories we hear from Washington’s clients is encouraging, making this one of the more memorable shorts in this category. With all that’s going on in this 34-minute short (funded by the New Yorker), it could’ve easily been stretched out to feature-length, but I’m just glad that such positivity is out there for all to see. (avail. on YouTube)
RATING: ***
