Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts (2025) review
There are some similarities to this year’s five Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts nominees, but oddly, only one tells a story outside of the States. Two revolve around music, one a young girl and the other a seasoned woman, both of whom are playing a musical instrument in a large group setting. There are two that revolve around a situation that is sadly all too familiar in America, and they involve a shooting; one occurred in a high school and another on a city street in broad daylight. The other nominee involves a traumatic incident that tragically changed the lives of two individuals in Texas, resulting in one of them being sentenced to death and the other being left without a father. Two nominees are hopeful and inspiring, while the others are complicated and infuriating. As a whole, the five nominees in this category remind us that people are always more than what they appear to be, and everyone has a story to tell.
Below are my thoughts on each of this year’s nominees in the Documentary Short category, listing from Least to Greatest:
THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA
In 1966, double-bassist Orin O’Brien became the first woman to join the New York Philharmonic, hired by Leonard Bernstein himself. While she retired in 2021, after a 55-year career, O’Brien would go on to teach at Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, where she currently holds a position in the Preparatory Division faculty at age 87. “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” is directed by her niece, Molly, and dropped on Netflix in December, making it the most accessible nominee in this category. The short is at its best when the O’Briens go back in time and recount what it was like being the only female musician in the Philharmonic and how the press made such a big deal about her gender. Orin had to push beyond all the noise and focus on the music. Maybe that mindset had something to do with the fact that her parents were Hollywood actors, or it could be that her intent was never to stand out in any significant way, but rather receive fulfillment by being a member of an orchestra. The 35-minute short also spends time with Orin in present-day, where she resides in New York City, still taking students into her home for lessons. She’s an intriguing, self-ingratiating subject, who has a fascinating story, it just so happens that the other nominees here offer more.
RATING: ***
INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART
In 23 minutes, Japanese-born British filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki tells the story of a first-grade class in Tokyo who learned to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” at their graduation in 2022. The year is crucial since we’re seeing students and teachers masked due to daily pandemic protocol, yet their eyes tell us so much. A case in point is one particular schoolgirl named Ayame, who auditioned and won the cymbal role. While that was stressful, Ayame will experience more pressure as her teachers encourage her to move beyond her mistakes and lack of preparation to embrace the importance of synchronicity and diligence. It’s a harsh lesson that the sensitive girl must learn, especially after she is reprimanded during practice and loses confidence. Fellow classmates and teachers support her, and it is without a doubt easy to get wrapped up in young Ayame’s story and feel grateful for the environment she is in, knowing that what she is experiencing is how all elementary schools should be. It’s a well-earned feel-good documentary that I’m glad exists.
RATING: ***
I AM READY, WARDEN
Director Smitri Mundhra has been here before when she was nominated for “St. Louis Superman,” a short she co-directed with Sami Khan. “I Am Ready, Warden” focuses on the final days leading up to the execution of Texas death row inmate John Henry Ramirez in 2o22. When he was 20 years old in 2004, Ramirez stabbed and killed a 46-year-old convenience store worker, Pablo Castro, and fled to Mexico, where he was captured four years later. What’s most compelling about the short is how Mundhra includes others who have been impacted by Castro’s murder and the sentence of Ramirez. Considerable time is spent with Castro’s son, Aaron, who was 14 years old when his father was killed, and also Ramirez’s spiritual advisor, Dana Moore, who became the godmother of his teenage son, Israel, since he was imprisoned. Also within the 37-minute runtime is the inclusion of District Attorney Mark Gonzalez, who filed a motion to withdraw Ramirez’s death sentence. Considering all involved, it’s a short that could’ve easily been expanded to feature-length, but as is, it’s a personal and powerful look at a subject all viewers have opinions about while adding different layers to consider.
RATING: ***
DEATH BY NUMBERS
Last fall, Peabody award-winning filmmaker Kim A. Snyder’s latest documentary short, “Death by Numbers,” premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival. In it, she turns an intimate lens on school shooting survivor Sam Fuentes’s poetic journey to reclaim her power by processing her trauma through journaling. Fuentes was in her Holocaust Studies class on February 14, 2018, when a gunman wielding an AR-15 rifle entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire on her classroom. Seventeen people total were killed, among them students and faculty, and many others wounded. Fuentes knows she is fortunate to have survived, but her life was also forever changed since she’ll have to contend with PTSD, anxiety, and depression for the rest of her life. Snyder works closely with Fuentes as she prepares to testify before her assailant (who shot her in the leg while she was in her Holocaust Studies class) in his harrowing sentencing trial; she examines complex questions of collective hatred and justice. By profiling a survivor so intimately, Snyder powerfully captures vulnerability and resilience. Fuentes will not forgive her assailant and refuses to give in to hate and fear, yet she would rather see him suffer forever than be sentenced to death for what he did.
RATING: ***1/2
INCIDENT
Another short about a shooting that took place in 2018 is “Incident,” directed by Chicago-born/New York-based Bill Morrison (“Dawson City: Frozen Time”), earning the documentarian his first Oscar nomination. Using a combination of bodycam and surveillance footage from July 14, 2018, at 5:30 pm, Morrison creates a harrowing albeit revealing montage of the events that led to the killing of Harith “Snoop” Augustus by Chicago police officer Dillan Halley on East 71st Street, between Joffrey Boulevard and Chappell Avenue. At first, it looks like we’re seeing an ordinary summer evening on a Chicago street. Still, then, we unfortunately witness an all too familiar sight: the shooting and killing of a Black civilian. Augustus was walking down the street after leaving the barbershop where he worked. As he passed a group of police officers, they noticed he had a gun, which he had a concealed-carry gun permit for, and within seconds, a melee turned into panic and then death. Morrison provides onscreen dialogue from police radio and what can be heard on the street from neighboring civilians. Political and social context is also offered, sharing how this took place a couple of months before the trial for the murder of Laquan MacDonald, another Chicago Black man shot down by police in 2014. The short’s most revealing and frustrating aspect is the contradictions we hear, which oppose the footage we’re exposed to. “Incident” is a raw and honest look at the ongoing crisis of police violence.
RATING: ****
