2020 OSCAR NOMINATED SHORT FILMS: DOCUMENTARY

This Shorts program is for mature audiences.

We are excited to screen 2020 Academy Award®-nominated Documentary short films. This program offers a selection of powerful international films, showcasing captivating stories that cover subject matter that is political, personal, and reflective of today’s society.

Full line up and film details listed below:

LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL)
CAROL DYSINGER | UK, US, AFGHANISTAN | 40 MIN

In Afghanistan, many young girls are not able to participate in sports. cultural and religious norms, along with other factors such as safety concerns and years of warfare, have resulted in limited athletic and recreational opportunities for women and girls, especially those who come from impoverished neighborhoods. But there is a new generation of Afghan girls who believe they can do anything. LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) tells the story of young afghan girls learning to read, write – and skateboard – in Kabul.

LIFE OVERTAKES ME
JOHN HAPTAS, KRISTINE SAMUELSON | USA | 37 MIN

LIFE OVERTAKES ME tells the story of traumatized children of the refugee diaspora who are in such profound despair that they withdraw into a coma-like state. in Sweden, over 400 refugee children have been afflicted with this life-threatening psychosomatic illness, and the film will accompany two of them and their families on their frightening odyssey through Resignation Syndrome.

IN THE ABSENCE
YI SEUNG-JUN | USA, SOUTH KOREA | 29 MIN

When the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from the national authorities.

ST. LOUIS SUPERMAN
SMRITI MUNDHRA, SAMI KHAN | USA | 28 MIN

Bruce Franks Jr., a Ferguson activist and battle rapper who was elected to the overwhelmingly white and Republican Missouri House of Representatives, must overcome both personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a bill critical for his community.

WALK RUN CHA-CHA
LAURA NIX | USA | 20 MIN

Paul and Millie Cao fell in love as teenagers in Vietnam but were soon separated by the war. Years later they finally reunited in California. Now, after decades of working hard to build new lives, they are making up for lost time on the dance floor. Shot over a period of six years, WALK RUN CHA-CHA is an intimate, beautifully-crafted story about immigration, transformation and the power of love.