Documentary Oscar Shorts 2022

Don’t miss your chance to experience this year’s best short films the way they were meant to be seen – on the big screen – before the 94th Annual Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, March 27, 2022! Predict the winners and you could win free passes to The Loft Cinema!
Once again, The Loft Cinema is proud to present this nationally-touring program highlighting all of the Live Action Short Films, Animated Short Films and Documentary Short Films that received Academy Award nominations this past year. The 2022 Oscar Nominated Short Films program offers viewers the rare opportunity to experience the year’s best short films from across the globe, collected together in this special cinematic showcase courtesy of Shorts HD and Magnolia Pictures. At the screenings, pick up an “Oscar Shorts Prediction” ballot in the lobby, check off your favorite film, and all those who correctly guess the winner (the winning films will be announced at the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, February 9) will be entered into a drawing for free movie passes to The Loft! Pass winners will be notified the week following the Oscar telecast. Don’t miss your golden opportunity to experience all of this year’s Oscar nominated short films, exclusively at The Loft Cinema!
Audible (Dir. by Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean, USA, 39 mins.). Audible is a cinematic and immersive coming of age documentary following Maryland School for the Deaf high school athlete Amaree McKenstry and his close friend as they face the pressures of senior year and grappling with the realities of venturing off into the hearing world. Amaree and his teammates take out their frustrations on the football field as they battle to protect an unprecedented winning streak, while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. This is a story about kids who stand up to adversity. They face conflict, but approach the future with hope – shouting to the world that they exist and they matter.
When We Were Bullies (Dir. by Jay Rosenblatt, USA/Germany, 36 mins.). A mind-boggling coincidence leads the filmmaker to track down his fifth grade class and fifth grade teacher to examine their memory of and complicity in a bullying incident 50 years ago.
Three Songs for Benazir (Dir. by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei, Afghanistan, 22 mins.). The story of Shaistra, a young man who – newly married to Benazir and living in a displacement camp in Kabul – struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family. The filmmakers’ remarkable access sheds light on the experience of modern-day Afghans who live, love and seek solace for themselves amid constant instability.
Lead Me Home (Dir. by Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk, USA, 39 mins.). 500,000 Americans experience homelessness every night. Lead Me Home is a documentary short that captures the experiences from multiple perspectives. This immersive, cinematic film personalizes the overwhelming issue by telling the real-life stories of those going through it as a first step toward challenging uninformed attitudes and outmoded policies and gives the audience a rare, in-depth look at the scale, scope and diversity of unsheltered America today.
The Queen of Basketball (Dir. by Ben Proudfoot, USA, 22 mins.). She is one of the greatest living women’s basketball players. 3 national trophies. Scored the first basket in women’s Olympic basketball at the ’76 Olympics. Drafted by the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lucy Harris?
Total program running time: 160 mins. Not Rated /Rated PG-13 equivalent for adult themes.