The Best Short Documentaries ever Made
From 4docs
Well, they are bloody good, even if they aren't the best ever made. Add your favourites (that doesn't not mean your own films) in alphabetical order and link to them if they are watchable online!
Auntie Niecey - Dir. Jim Morgan
Denise was told at the age of sixteen that she would never have children. Twenty years on, her struggle for motherhood is brilliantly documented in this small and supriding doc with a huge heart.
Christmas With Dad - Dir. Conor McCormack
Twenty-three year old AJ and his family prepare for the festive season and the arrival of an eigth child. Conor McCormak's remarkable directorial debut reveals a young man struggling to define his role as a father while facing an invitable and dark twist in his life.
Cyanosis - Dir. Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami
Tehran, Iran. Painter Jamshid Aminfar uses found objects on the streets to create haunting and vivid works of art. In this award winning short doc filmmaker Rokhsareh Ghaemjmaghami animates Aminfars paintings, revealing a rich inner life and difficult childhood best weight loss. Hassled by police,and ridiculed by passersby, friends of Aminfar help him prepare for an exhibition. At the same time, Amnifar, who has endured a very unhappy marriage, finds himself falling in love. But will she reciprocate?
Dreznica - Dir. Anna Azevedo
A lyrical and visually inspiring journey through the images, sensations, and dreams of the blind.
Edgeware Walker - Lee Kern
Now available on DVD
Holiday Around My Bedroom - Jamie Jay Johnson
The filmmaker took a holiday in his bedroom, shot and edited this film there. A one-off. Nominated for a BAFTA.
I Dream Of Veriety - Dir. Luke Sewell
Jo Invested £10,000 of her own money into dilapidated Radford Veriety Club. Needless to say she has high hopes for its resurrection on the piss soaked streets of Nottingham. Can Jo turn the club around despite of lackadaisical business partners and a landlord who doesn't see a club but a car showroom?
Les Braves: Jean Widhoff - Dir. Alain Cavalier
In a single, mesmerising shot, Jean Widhoff recounts his turbulent life as a lieutenant in the french army during the Algerian war. "At the age of 23 to have power of life and death over others, and then see what human nature is capable of - thats what i found most disturbing", he says at the outset. He takes us back to army life, fifty years earlier, when his instincts overtook his rank diet pills, with lasting results.
The Lift - Mark Issacs
A short shot in a lift on an east London estate. Won a Grierson award.
Pockets - James Lees
Snack and Drink - Bob Sabiston and Tommy Pallotta.
an animated documentary short by Bob Sabiston and Tommy Pallotta, starring Ryan Power. This autistic teenager in Austin, Texas walks to a local 7-11 to get a snack and drink. It is rotoscoped with a wild variety of animation styles by different animators.
The Solitary Life of Cranes - Eva Weber
24 hours in the life of London seen through the eyes of crane drivers. Part city symphony, part visual poem, the film was selected as one of the top five films of the year 2008 by critic Nick Bradshaw in Sight & Sound's annual film review. Won best short at BRITDOC Festival.
Talk to Me - Mark Craig
Made from twenty years of collected answermachine messages and memorabilia. Won a Sheffield Grierson for Innovation.
Terminal Bar - Stefan Nadelman
A history of a New York City bar whose customers ranged from the hard-drinking working class Irish to the coiffed African American gay male - lots of amazing photo animation.
This is a True Story - Paul Berzceller
Nominated for a BAFTA. Told entirely in photographs.