Oscar Shorts - Documentary

Sunday, March 5th at 7pm, join the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival for a special presentation of this year’s Oscar Nominated Short Documentaries.

From a fresh take on Watergate and a chilling tale of anti-immigrant bias to rescue efforts on behalf of some of the biggest mammals on the planet, the Academy will have its hands full choosing a winner in this category.

This year's titles Include:

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 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.

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

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 warm- ing seas and rising temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed.

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.

The full program runs 2 hours and 45 minutes and has a rating equivalent of PG-13/R for adult themes.