Documentary Shorts Program

Travel the world with compelling real-life stories at the Documentary Shorts program!

Birthing a Nation: The Resistance of Mary Gaffney
Birthing A Nation: The Resistance of Mary Gaffney explores the story of forced reproduction in the antebellum South and reveals the agency of Mary Gaffney, an enslaved woman who takes control of her body and fertility. (Dir. by Nazenet Habtezghi, US, English, 19 mins.)

Under G-d
Following the Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision, Jewish women, rabbis and other interfaith leaders have begun to challenge the overturning of Roe state by state by launching lawsuits maintaining the separation between church and state and protecting religious freedom for all. (Dir. by Paula Eiselt, US, English, 24 mins.)

Boat People
As a child in Vietnam, Thao’s mother often rescued ants from bowls of sugar water. Years later they would return the favor. (Dir. by Thao Lam, Kjell Boersma, Canada, English, 10 mins.)

Still Waters
A daughter asks her mother a question about her mother’s childhood. Her answer begs them to wade through its rippling effects throughout their lives. (Dir. by Aurora Brachman, US, English, 12 mins.)

Will You Look at Me
As a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search of himself, a long overdue conversation with his mother plunges the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.  (Dir. by Shuli Huang, US, Chinese and English with English subtitles, 20 mins.)

Breaking Silence
A portrait of a deaf activist and his formerly incarcerated daughter, who build new bonds through their experiences in the criminal justice system. (Dir. by Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein, US, English, 18 mins.)

Powernappers Paradise
A mosaic of working class life and people in the Philippines where it is perfectly okay to sleep at work. (Dir. by Samir Arabzadeh, Sweden, English and Filipino with English subtitles, 14 mins.)