The year’s most spectacular Documentary short films.
Social & External
In the underground world of diffing, a community finds solace in their passion, as they navigate personal struggles and challenges both on and off the road.
When the Cows Come Home introduces audiences to Tilly and Maggie, a pair of cows that musician, journalist, artist and cow whisperer, Andrew Johnstone has befriended and subsequently saved from slaughter. The garrulous herdsman is enthusiastic to expound his views on animal husbandry, bovine communication and the vagaries of life in general, before the film walks us back through the events that have shaped the singular farmer-philosopher. From personal family tragedy to warring with Catholic school authorities, innovating in Hamilton’s nascent music scene to creating guerrilla art installations; Johnstone’s life has had a truly idiosyncratic trajectory. Mental health issues may have seen him retreat to life on the farm, but the film makes clear its subject’s restless inquisitiveness is far from being put out to pasture.
Learn how to get the most out of each cooking method. *Charcoal hardware, from hibachis to high-tech. *Specific cuts of meat and recipes that make the best charcoal meals. *Sure-fire ways to start and arrange your charcoal, for glowing results. *Wonderful woods - the whys, whiffs and wherefores.
Due to the measures taken by the government, students have fewer and fewer prospects for a meaningful future. Life is on pause and society is kept in fear. The confidence in a bright future is gone. Even after 18 months, there is still no light at the end of the tunnel. The many promises have not yet changed this situation. In this moving documentary, young people give an idea of the impact of the measures on their lives. Is there still hope or has the damage already been done?
Kain Tayo follows Rica Piquan, the owner of Pamilihan Pinoy Asian Groceries, one of only two Filipino markets in Tucson, Arizona. Born and raised in the Phillipines, Rica’s lifelong passion for cooking inspired her next dream, opening a Filipino restaurant. She plans to share her culture and passion by the end of the year. While managing her grocery store seven days a week and building her restaurant from the ground up, she still finds time to cook for her family every day. Seen through Rica’s journey and her daughter's eyes, the film explores the resilience of an immigrant story and the rich traditions of Filipino food and culture.
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation has declared a “State of Emergency”, after an outbreak of youth suicides has devastated the community. Due to a lack of Federal assistance, residents have taken prevention efforts into their own hands. A tenacious Oglala Lakota elder takes charge, rallying the community to get involved, while empowering a resilient young group of suicide survivors to band together to help raise awareness.
This explores the reality of chefs and cooks as they struggle to create dishes and experiences enjoyed on a daily basis. The restaurant industry is a tough business, not just for profits, but for everyone involved.
A major feature-length ITV documentary about footballer Terry Butcher will chart his career as well as the devastating personal tragedy of the loss of his Army veteran son. Butcher is one of England's most celebrated players, with 77 caps, seven times as captain. Photos and footage of him playing on with a bandage around a head injury during a vital World Cup qualifier provide one of the iconic images of the national team's history. Butcher's achievements in the club game include trophy-winning stints at Ipswich Town and Glasgow Rangers. But Butcher: Invisible Wounds also tells the story of the personal loss he endured following the death of his son Chris, a British Army veteran who passed away after suffering severe PTSD.
This is the tale of a young woman, growing up in the age of the internet and turning the search for oneself into a public spectacle, allowing kids from all over the world to live their life through hers. Through her fragmented personalities you see the emergence of a new generation, in which the concept of a fixed identity has grown old.
A touring program of recent short films, commissioned by Film Hub Wales and delivered by the Independent Cinema Office, that showcases how contemporary working-class filmmakers depict working-class experiences in modern Britain. The program features films spanning various genres, from documentaries to flights of fancy, and aims to offer a richer, more complex, and creative perspective on working-class life beyond outdated stereotypes.
Incarcerated participants in a mental health experiment watch videos of sunset-soaked beaches, wildflowers and forests on loop, prompting them to reflect on isolation and wilderness. Equal parts meditation and provocation, Blue Room identifies the damage done by withholding access to the outdoors and how we are all prisoners when the essential human need for communion with nature is denied.
In the aftermath of war, an extraordinary professor brings hope to children haunted by trauma-induced nightmares.
Four-time Emmy winner John Kastner was granted unprecedented access to the Brockville facility for 18 months, allowing 46 patients and 75 staff to share their experiences with stunning frankness. The result is two remarkable documentaries: the first, NCR: Not Criminally Responsible, premiered at Hot Docs in the spring of 2013 and follows the story of a violent patient released into the community. The second film, Out of Mind, Out of Sight, returns to the Brockville Mental Health Centre to profile four patients, two men and two women, as they struggle to gain control over their lives so they can return to a society that often fears and demonizes them.
Four peoples’ lives are brought together by the opioid crisis in a small Georgia city. A seasoned firefighter saves the life of a young woman looking for purpose, while grieving parents fight to provide the support their son struggled to find.
A snapshot of the state of animated filmmaking 100 years ago. Includes several 1922 films: Walt Disney's "The Four Musicians of Bremen," Dave Fleischer's "Birthday," Otto Messmer's "Felix Makes Good," Paul Terry's "The Farmer and His Cat," Earl Hund's "Fresh Fish," Dave Fleischer's "Mechanical Doll," Otto Messmer's "Felix Fifty-Fifty," and Paul Terry's "Henry's Busted Romance".
Follows the story of Freddie Stevenson from his meteoric rise through high school and college football to a chaotic life afterwards that led him to reinvent himself and rise up all over again. This documentary connects similar stories of struggle and redemption from motivational speaker Tony Gaskins, "General Hospital" star Maurice Benard, NFL and CFL player Delvin Breaux, and more. These stories are raw and uncut, just as they want to to tell them.
ZAAD tells the autobiographical story of Dries Meddens. After the death of his mother, the care for Dries' bipolar father falls on his plate. He discovers how crudely and ruthlessly society and psychiatry treat patients. His father eventually dies in solitary confinement. While emptying his parent’s home, Dries discovers an old letter from his grandfather. The man appears to have led a busy, productive life. He is the founder of an internationally renowned seed breeding company and still has time to paint, write diaries and conduct intensive correspondence. Dries finds similarities between his grandfather, his father and himself. Slowly the fear grows that his father's psychiatric illness might be hereditary. Strolling through the family’s film and photo archives, with dramatic and sometimes hilarious finds, Dries tries to find answers. He also consults a psychiatrist. Together the consultations and reviewing of his archival material help Dries look at bipolarity with new eyes.
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Incarcerated men defy the odds to expose a cover-up in one of America’s deadliest prison systems.
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
The story of artist Lil Peep from his birth in Long Island and meteoric rise as a genre blending pop star & style icon, to his death due to an accidental opioid overdose in Arizona at just 21 years of age.
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Police bodycam footage reveals how a long-running neighborhood dispute turned fatal in this documentary about fear, prejudice and Stand Your Ground laws.
Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Twenty-five years after the verdict in the Rodney King trial sparked several days of protests, violence and looting in Los Angeles, LA 92 immerses viewers in that tumultuous period through stunning and rarely seen archival footage.
THE SPIRIT MOLECULE weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories regarding its role in human consciousness.
Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
