See the year’s most spectacular short films on the big screen for a limited time! Each feature-length program includes all five of its Academy Award nominees!
Oscar Nominated Short Films 2024: Documentary – 2 hours and 30 minutes
THE ABC’S OF BOOK BANNING – Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic, 27 min., USA (in English)
Over 2000 books have been removed from school districts in the U.S. THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING follows the human toll the future will pay for depriving children of their right to read and learn about a complex world. Interviews with children and authors shed light on this ongoing dangerous precedent.
THE LAST REPAIR SHOP – Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers, 40 min., USA (in English)
Los Angeles is one of the last American cities to provide free and freely repaired musical instruments to its public schoolchildren. THE LAST REPAIR SHOP showcases the warehouse where devoted craftspeople keep over 80,000 instruments in good repair.
ISLAND IN BETWEEN – S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien, 20 min., Taiwan (in English/Mandarin)
From Taiwan’s frontline amid rising tensions with China, filmmaker S. Leo Chiang weaves lyrical glimpses of local life with his own struggle negotiating ambivalent bonds to Taiwan, China, and the USA. ISLAND IN BETWEEN explores the uneasy peace in Taiwan, and contemplates its uncertain future.
NAI NAI AND WÀI PÓ– Sean Wang and Sam Davis, 17 min., USA (in Mandarin)
Sean Wang is a filmmaker from Fremont, CA, currently based in Los Angeles. He is a Google Creative Lab 5 alum, former Sundance Ignite Fellow, and 2023 Sundance Screenwriters & Directors Lab Fellow.
THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK – John Hoffman and Christine Turner, 35 min., USA (in English)
THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK explores America’s widening racial wealth gap through the story of Arlo Washington, a local barber whose visionary approach to a just economy can be found in the mission of People Trust, the nonprofit community bank he founded.