The 2023 Oscar-Nominated Shorts: Documentary

For the 18th consecutive year, ShortsTV presents the Oscar-Nominated Short Films, opening on Feb. 17th. 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 12th.

The Elephant Whisperers – India, 41 min. Director: Kartiki Gonsalves
Producers: Guneet Monga, Achin Jain
Synopsis: 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 – UK, 25 min. Directors: Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev
Producers: Evgenia Arbugaeva, Maxim Arbugaev
Synopsis: 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? – USA, 29 min. Director: Jay Rosenblatt
Producer: Jay Rosenblatt
Synopsis: 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 – USA, 39 min. Directors: Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
Producers: Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy
Synopsis: 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 whistle-blowers: Martha Mitchell, a Republican cabinet wife who was gas-lighted and at one point literally drugged 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 – USA, 30 min. Directors: Joshua Seftel
Producers: Joshua Seftel, Suzanne Hillinger, Conall Jones
Executive Producer: Malala Yousafzai
Cast: Bibi Bahrami, Saber Bahrami, Richard “Mac” McKinney, Emily McKinney, Dana McKinney & Jomo Williams
Synopsis: After 25 years of service, a U.S. 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.