Doc Corner: Ranking the Documentary Short Nominees from Least to Most Depressing
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at 5:00PM By Glenn Dunks
We have done this very particular ranking twice before now. Does that make it a tradition? We have only had to skip one year (2017) of Best Documentary (Short Subject) nominees because that year’s batch were a happy lot for a change.
This year’s nominees for what is often the most dour of categories could have certainly been darker – trust me, I’ve seen the other films that were shortlisted. They didn't nominate the one about murderous street gangs or the one about the humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Maria! Still, there are big themes among this year’s strong selection of titles (although it must be said, the feature category is far superior): we are taken from a warzone in Afghanistan to a man-made tragedy in South Korea, refugee stories from Vietnam to Sweden, and back to the streets of Missouri.
The nominees are:
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha
Let’s take a deeper look…
Not depressing at all, it is just so pure: Walk Run Cha-Cha
Director: Laura Nix
Runtime: 20mins
Stream it on NY Times and Vimeo
Themes: Immigration, the American Dream, dancing!
Fun fact: Laura Nix has nearly 40 directing credits to her name including many DVD extras about the making-of movies like Scoring ‘Ghosts of Mars’, Behind the Scenes of ‘John Q’, Keepin’ it Real: ‘Punisher’ Stunts and Intersections: The Making of ‘Rendition’.
Audiences may shed tears by the end of this one, but not out of how terrible the world is. Rather, Laura Nix’s Walk Run Cha-Cha is a pure delight, built around the story of Vietnamese emigrants who, decades since they risked everything, decide to relive their youth as lovers of dance. It’s pretty hard to finish this New York Times doc without some sort of grin on one’s face, although if you stop to think about it the realities of America’s – and most of the world’s, quite frankly – immigration policies mean to stories like Millie and Chipaul Cao’s may be harder to come by in the coming years. Choosing to focus more on their lives in America rather than their time in Vietnam among the nation’s vulnerable ethnic Chinese minority population, Nix adds further layers of charm in its final minutes as she strips away the conventional aesthetics of non-fiction verite and stages a pre-end credits dance routine.
But can it win: It stands out, although it can also come across as less important – especially those who may perhaps only read the synopsis.
Watch those involved discover they are going to the Oscars. Even more joy!!
‘Warzone’ is right there in the title (but it’s kind of a feel-good movie): Learning the Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
Director: Carol Dysinger
Runtime: 39mins
Stream it on A&E Networks
Themes: Women’s rights, the fight for independence, children in war
Fun fact: The non-profit organisation that runs these skating classes is called Skatistan and has further outreach in Cambodia and South Africa.
Among the rubble of Kabul where car bombs are detonated and helicopters fly overhead, bringing danger and fear with them, a group of young girls want to learn how to read, how to write, and how to ride a skateboard. The realities of their lives are not lost on the girls, which only makes the scenes of them strapping on kneepads and helmets feel all the more charged with the spirit of rebellious kids the world over. As one notes, courage is when somebody, anybody, accepts the challenge to learn and their story is ultimately one of these vulnerable class of society finding the courage to not just accept what is expected of them.
But can it win: Since I saw it several months ago, I suspected it was a frontrunner. And I now with more obvious voter-friendly titles not on the nominations list, I see no reason to change that prediction. If nothing else, it has the best title and the best plot for those who don’t bother to watch.
Oh, now we’re in it: St Louis Superman
Directors: Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
Runtime: 25mins
Themes: Police shootings, race, childhood trauma, murder, political activism
Fun fact: The first ever nomination for MTV
I wished director Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan had been allowed to go deeper with their subject, Missouri House of Representatives member Bruce Franks Jr, but the demons that plague him ultimately cut his career and the film short. I feel a bit churlish being critical of a film that seems so obviously hobbled since what is there is powerful and keenly tuned to the political realities faced by Bruce who is a compelling subject and whose ambition is cruely cut short by anguish and trauma. The movie clearly wants to question the very mechanics of American politics, but ultimately doesn’t quite get there, but Bruce's message is Superman's greatest strength.
But can it win: The lone nominee set in America can’t hurt it, although I would have been more confident had it been on Netflix or a platform more easily available. As it is, Mundhra and Khan’s film isn’t online anywhere as far as I can tell, which as we’ve seen these last few years is an important factor for the documentary categories.
How is this even real? Life Overtakes Me
Director: John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson
Runtime: 39mins
Themes: (deep breath) Mysterious chronic diseases in children, children in coma, refugees, deportation, government intimidation, rape and murder
Stream it on Netflix
Fun Fact:
Did you know that there has been an outbreak of a mysterious disease among refugees living in Sweden that renders children in comas that last for weeks, months, or even up to a year? A physiological anomaly wherein these kids respond to the fraught nature of their existence as refugees in a land that doesn’t want them (all the featured families are currently having their fates decided on by the Swedish system) by simply decompressing from the world and succumbing to a sleep-like state. These people have escaped terrible circumstances, including in one instance nearly being murdered and another who is raped, so in some way it makes total sense while in other ways is also completely shocking and if it weren’t a documentary I’d say it was completely unbelievable. I wished the film found a more interesting way of weaving its multiple stories, however.
But can it win: Never discount Netflix, but I think in this case it lacks a hook that will make voters gravitate towards it.
[Expletive]! In the Absence
Director: Yi Seung-jun
Runtime: 29mins
Themes: Mass-death, suicide, political negligence
Stream it on Field of Vision and YouTube
Fun fact: Alongside Parasite, In the Absence was the first South Korean production ever nominated for an Academy Award.
Sometimes I just watch a film in stunned silence as each new development reveals some new form of grotesque and awful side of humanity. In the Absence is one such film! Documenting the Sewol ferry disaster of 2014 where some 300 people, mostly students, died off of the coast of South Korea, as well as its aftermath, In the Absence is a riveting yet hard-to-stomach film. I’m thankful it was only a short because the layer after layer of very bad shit that happens can feel overwhelming. Having said that, it is my favourite of the lot for the way it pivots from tragedy to tragedy that continued for years and ultimately brought down the country’s leader and for how it utilised its incredible footage.
But can it win: Yes, if voters are feeling a bit more serious this year. It’s place in history alongside Parasite gives it a narrative if voters are smitten and want to reward this oft-ignored industry with one more trophy. I would still predict Warzone, though.
Reader Comments (10)
I have yet to see St. Louis Superman. But from what I've seen, it's between "In the Absence" and 'Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)" depending on their mood. My pick would be "In the Absence."
In the spirit of My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York, I think it's going to be Learning the Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl).
that's a grim line-up to face after just coming back from a break - i applaud your documentary devotion
I'm not brave enough to bet against it, but "Learning to Skateboard" almost feels like TOO obvious a winner. As you mention, the title alone is practically begging for votes, and any member who actually watches their screener will surely discover it's the least substantial of the five.
Wish I could’ve seen Superman, but of the other 4, “in the Absence” is the most rage-inducing and best structured. I think “Cha Cha” can win only because it’s so unlike the others and has a genuine sense of uplift.
Glenn, I thought The Nightcrawlers was excellent and was shocked that it didn’t get nominated. I think In the Absence is best of this bunch but Learning to Skateboard, which is also good, will win.
Abe, yes I thought it would get in, too. Certainly over a couple of these.
I noticed several years ago that doc shorts about little girls (and women) win a lot so I"m going with Learning to Skateboard.
We saw all the doc shorts a few years ago and I was convinced “Hero(ine)”
would win but I ugly cried so hard at the winner, “Heaven is Traffic on the 405” (or something like that) that I wasn’t even mad about not winning my Oscar pool.
This is an incredible selection of educational content. I think this top helps me not get bored. I recently read gradesfixer.com an article about realistic stories from famous TV shows. Netflix uses a pattern of emphasizing stereotypes. I like the plot of the series of the Indian film company which impresses with its social issues.