Doc Corner: Ranking the Best Documentary Short Subject Nominees from Least to Most Depressing

by Glenn Dunks

After doing this ranking system two years ago, we took 2017 off because – in a rarity for the Best Documentary Short Subject category – most of the nominees were actually not entirely miserable! This year the branch has gone back to films that make us feel deeply sad about the world in which we live. That’s not a bad thing since, if any category should be able to confront the inequalities, the traumas, the tragedies, the inhumanities of this world, then documentary short films are it.

This year’s nominees cover themes both familiar and yet distressingly contemporary: the refugee crisis, race, the rise of fascism and Nazism in mainstream politics, third world inequalities and death.They’re certainly not the happiest lot of film you’ll ever see. They do, however, make for a solid roster of nominees...

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Linking Neverland

• /Film the Wicked movie has a new release date, December 22nd, 2021. We'll believe that once we see actual casting news or a start date for filming. So should we start talking about the 94th Academy Awards yet. LOLOLO no. No we shan't.
• Library of America Sheila O'Malley's great essay on East of Eden (1955)
• Deadline Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect, True Blood) gets a leading sitcom role. Yay, it's about time since she's always hilarious. The comedy is about a church choir that gets a new director (Bradley Whitford)

• IndieWire interesting quotes from indie filmmakers trying to diversify their crew to have more gender parity and multiculturalism and the obstacles they do and don't face.  
• LA Times women over 70 are killing it right now: Glenn Close, Betty Buckley, RBG, Rita Moreno, Jane Fonda, etc
• AV Club Black Panther's Michael B Jordan is attached to a film adaptation of the popular new fantasy epic Black Leopard, Red Wolf set in an alternate reality Africa. (Hmmm, can he also make movies called Black Tiger, Black Jaguar and Black Lion for a full set of big cats?)
• /Film Aquaman's gross has gotten so big that Warner Bros is going to do a spin-off horror film The Trench set in the kingdom of the film's most memorable sequence
• AV Club Steve Buscemi learns about that viral 'deepfake' video of his face superimposed on Jennifer Lawrence's body
• Pajiba explains the whole Jeff Bezos vs National Enquirer business. My god what a mess (but a fascinating one)
• MNPP's obsession with Armie Hammer really does make us love Armie Hammer more
• Towleroad Ellen Page drags Chris Pratt over his homophobic church
• Variety controversial Michael Jackson Sundance doc Leaving Neverland premieres on HBO on March 3rd 

Oscar Shorts Alert
Don't forget that all 15 Oscar-nominated short films are now in theaters. If they're not in your city, they'll be available On Demand on February 19th.

Sundance: Choose Your Own Interpretation of "Luce"

Abe Fried Tanzer reporting from Sundance

People walk through this world with different levels of privilege. It’s a concept that’s become more widely understood of late, and certainly featured prominently in numerous films in recent years. In fact, 24 year-old actor Kelvin Harrison Jr. has starred in a handful that have played at Sundance, including both Monster and Monsters and Men just last year. This year, he stars opposite Naomi Watts in two films. One is The Wolf Hour, a dreary tale of agoraphobia in 1970s New York City that mildly touches on race and class. The other, which tackles the notion of privilege and prejudice, is Luce.

Harrison Jr. stars as the title character, who was adopted from Eritrea at age 7 by Amy (Watts) and Peter (Tim Roth), and, with the help of considerable therapy to overcome his violent childhood, has excelled incredibly and become the class valedictorian...

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Sundance: Keira Knightley has "Official Secrets"

Abe Fried-Tanzer reporting from Sundance

As if there wasn’t enough going on in today’s American and international politics, events that happened a decade and a half ago seem to be coming into focus again. The start of the Iraq war and its implications were covered in the Best Picture nominee Vice and are the subject of two new films premiering at Sundance. Murtada just shared his thoughts on The Report, which focuses on the investigation into torture practices used by the United States. Official Secrets takes place across the pond, following the fallout of one British intelligence translator’s decision to leak an NSA memo detailing plans to blackmail United Nations security council members into voting to go to war in Iraq...

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Sundance: Great acting in "Clemency," an education in "The Report"

Murtada Elfadl reporting from Sundance

Should we react to movies based on content or artistic merit? I struggled with two movies at Sundance this week which had incendiary, important content and tackled either a crucial part of history or provided necessary social commentary. Artistically, however, I found both Clemency and The Report lacking...

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