2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentaries

For the 18th consecutive year, ShortsTV and Magnolia Pictures present the Oscar-Nominated Short Films, opening on Feb. 17^th. With all three categories offered – Animated, Live Action and Documentary – this is your annual chance to predict the winners (and have the edge in your Oscar pool)! A perennial hit with audiences around the country and the world, don’t miss this year’s selection of shorts.

The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 12^th.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS (166 minutes)

The Elephant Whisperers – Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga, India, 40 min.

The Elephant Whisperers follows an indigenous couple as they fall in love with Raghu, an orphaned elephant given into their care, and tirelessly work to ensure his recovery and survival.

Haulout – Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev, UK, 25 min.

On a remote coast of the Siberian Arctic in a wind-battered hut, a lonely man waits to witness an ancient gathering. But warming seas and rising temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed.

How Do You Measure a Year? – Jay Rosenblatt, USA, 29 min.

For 17 years, filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt filmed his daughter Ella on her birthday in the same spot, asking the same questions. What results is a unique chance to watch time, to see a young woman come into focus physically, mentally and emotionally.

The Martha Mitchell Effect – Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison, USA, 40 min.

She was once as famous as Jackie O. And then she tried to take down a President. The Martha Mitchell Effect is an archival documentary portrait of the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: Martha Mitchell, a Republican cabinet wife who was gaslighted by the Nixon Administration to keep her quiet. It offers a female gaze on Watergate through the voice of the woman herself.

Stranger at the Gate – Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones, USA, 29 min.

From Executive Producer Malala Yousafzai. After 25 years of service, a US Marine filled with hatred for Muslims plots to bomb an Indiana mosque. When he comes face to face with the immigrants he seeks to kill, the story takes a shocking twist toward compassion, grace, and forgiveness.