Oscar season is coming up, and the shortlists have been released. We are starting early with our reviews of one of our favorite categories, the documentary shorts! Click on the heading link to watch the films.

We Were The Scenery

Available at no charge currently on Vimeo. This film contains subtitles. Written by their daughter, this short film, 15 minutes, Cathy Linh Che follows the story of her parents on their journey from Vietnam to the Philippines, and finally to America. Hoa Thi Che and Hue Nguyen Che set out as refugees on a boat to escape during the Vietnam War with America. Upon arrival, they stayed at a Red Cross refugee camp for 11 months. During this time, the Red Cross arranged for the refugees to act as paid extras in Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Apocalypse Now.

The scenery, from Vietnam to the Philippines, is lush and tropical. I am often amazed by refugees, as many have experienced great hardships in the past but look on life with little complaint and the desire to make and enjoy happy times in the present. While they weren’t given a choice to participate in the film or not, Cathy Linh Che’s parents recall it being an interesting and somewhat fun experience.

I absolutely enjoyed this film, from the cinematography, to seeing a snapshot of someone else’s life so much different than my own.

Rovina’s Choice

Rovina’s Choice is available for free on The New Yorker, or their YouTube channel, linked above, and is just over 22 minutes. It includes subtitles.

Rovina Naboi and her children live in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya with 300,000 other people who have fled from the horrors of war in South Sudan. Places like the camp in Kakuma received food and medical aid from the USAID program, which ended early last year (2025). These cuts now only provide for one meal a day at most in refugee camps. Rovina’s 15 month old daughter Jane suffered from malnutrition and became ill. Rovina took Jane 15 kilometers (just over seven miles) to Clinic 7 for emergency medical care. There are five doctors at Clinic 7, to provide medical care for all 300,000 refugees. Rovina’s remaining children stayed behind alone at the camp where they had no access to food. Rovina was faced with the decision to stay with Jane at the clinic until she was better and have her other children starve, or risk Jane’s life to return to the camp. She strapped Jane on her back and walked the 15 kilometers back to the camp, and Jane died the following morning.

In addition to malnutrition causing disease, loss of funding for USAID will contribute to more problems over time. There will be no vaccines to prevent disease, and there will be a loss of control over HIV and tuberculosis. Jane’s death will be just one of thousands or hundreds of thousands to come. Rovina and Jane are the face of the executive order to shut down USAID.

Last Days on Lake Trinity

This short doc, from The New Yorker and free on their website or their YouTube channel, is 30 minutes long, and features three residents of the Lakeside Park Estates in Hollywood Florida as they prepare to move from the trailer park that they have called home for years. Their future is uncertain.

In March 2022, residents at Lakeside Park Estates were given notice that the land their trailers sat on, owned by the Christian broadcast network Trinity Broadcast Network, had been sold to build and house warehouses. Residents owned their trailers and paid a low lot rent; the new warehouses that would be located on the land would undoubtedly bring in a lot more money. Most of the trailers were too old or in too poor of shape to be moved and were demolished. The majority of the residents couldn’t afford local apartment rent in their area. One of the residents, exhibiting the first signs of dementia, would be forced to leave her cat behind.

In a country where the biggest payout is always chosen, even “Christian” businesses like Trinity will sell out the poor. As places like Lakeside Park Estates, or large public housing complexes across the nation, disappear, the residents lose more than just their homes. They lose their sense of community, their independence, and their personhood.

Cashing Out

Another fantastic free documentary from The New Yorker, again available on their website or their YouTube channel, this short doc is 39 minutes.

In the 1980s with the AIDS crisis, individuals nearing death were faced with not having money to either do the things they wanted or to provide for them the care they needed. In came the advent of viatical settlements, a plan where investors would “buy” the life insurance policies’ future benefits and give cash immediately to the individual facing this terrible diagnosis. Were viatical settlements ghoulish, or helpful? Not everyone had money to afford life insurance policies while they were healthy, so what was their option? The HIV viatical settlements became a losing investment with the advent of HIV combination therapy and life extension for those with the disease.

Watching this short doc, I was immediately reminded of Star Trek DS9 episode from June 1996, “Body Parts”. Quark receives a fatal diagnosis, and in the Ferengi tradition, offers the future sales of discs of his desiccated corpse. He then receives word that the diagnosis was in error, and he won’t die; fellow Ferengi Brunt had purchased the futures and arrived to collect his purchase.

This documentary also reminds me of the horror of the AIDS epidemic, and how the homophobia of the American government contributed to deaths of more individuals than the Vietnam War.

All the Empty Rooms

This one, 35 minutes, is currently available with a Netflix subscription. It is a haunting piece showcasing four bedrooms, preserved in time, from victims of school shootings. The journalist and photographer speak with the parents and siblings of those who were killed, and give us a small glimpse into the lives lost by examining the remains of their lives and personalities.

This film is not sensational, and not a typical telling of what happens when we as a country fail our children in favor of “2nd amendment rights” for all. The film is somber, and quiet, and heavy.

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

This short doc is available with subscription to HBOMax and clocks in at 39 minutes.

Brent Renaud was a photojournalist with the New York Times, when he and other journalists were ambushed and killed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. This documentary shares Brent’s life, how he came to be in these war-torn locations throughout the world giving a voice to those who would otherwise not have one, through his own work and the words of his family.

The documentary notes “journalism has become one of the world’s most dangerous professions.” It shouldn’t have to be that way. This is yet another reason why I firmly believe the United States must stand up to Russia and defend Ukraine. This film is a gut punch, and made me cry. Well worth the watch, and worth seeking out Brent Renaud’s other work.

Chasing Time

This short doc is currently available for free on the PBS website and is 25 minutes. It is, as the note at the end, about the legacy of the ice and our legacy of what we’ve done to our planet. In 2007, the Extreme Ice Survey (EIS) was started. Photographer James Balog documented the glaciers through the years, a physical capture of their death and a view of change through time. Ice is a manifestation of climate change.

For Balog and others, the spiritual essence of the landscape, of the ice, is a connecting point for all human kind. At the same time he faces the extinction of the ice, he faces his own mortality. His next project, a citizen-lead joint photographic collective documentation of Iceland, will record whether we have succeeded or failed in our stewardship of the planet. Can one person make a difference? Yes. Through inspiration, one person can change the hearts and minds of others.

Classroom 4

This short doc is also available for free on the PBS website. It is 38 minutes long.

Professor Reiko Hillyer teaches course “The History of Crime and Punishment in the United States” at a prison in Portland, Oregon through the International Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Classmates consist of 15 college students (the outs) and 15 inmates (the ins). Through the semester, students read, write, and discuss the curriculum while openly sharing their feelings and opinions.

The US holds the world’s highest incarceration rate, with nearly one percent of our population locked up. In most cases, inmates aren’t given access to training, education, or mental health care that would help them avoid recidivism.

The Devil is Busy

This short doc, available with a subscription to HBOMax, is 32 minutes. It is a sobering look into the daily life of Tracii, who runs security for the Feminist Women’s Health Clinic in Georgia, and the other individuals who help her provide needed health care for women after the overturning of Roe vs. Wade.

This film was produced by Soledad O’Brien’s studio, and without her and HBOMax, I’m not sure that a film like this could or would be made in today’s political climate. It is unreal to me that women have fewer rights now than they did when I was younger.

Other Films

These other films are on the shortlist, but I have not yet had the chance to view them. Oscar nominations are out January 22, 2026, so if any of these are nominated there is the chance they will become available for streaming. You can catch my full Oscar review here on catobear.com closer to the March awards show!

“All the Walls Came Down” – not yet available for streaming

“Bad Hostage” – not yet available for streaming

“Chasing Time” – Apple TV (I don’t currently have a subscription)

“Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” – not yet available for streaming

“Heartbeat” – not yet available for streaming

“On Healing Land, Birds Perch” – not yet available for streaming

“Perfectly a Strangeness” – not yet available for streaming

I said I wasn’t going to go crazy again this year and try to see as many of the 2025 Academy Awards nominees as possible before the ceremony. I said that most of the films nominated are so depressing, I can’t stand the misery. And yet, I started watching nominees. As in every other year I’ve done this (click on the links for 2024, 2023, and 2022), I don’t watch all of the categories or even all of the films. In the case of the films I rented, I used my Visa points to do so. I straight up paid for the Vimeo rentals. I plan to pick up an Apple + subscription in May to catch the new Murderbot series, but that’s neither here nor there. I’ve watched enough films to again be kind of burned out on all of it, and will go back to watching School Spirits or Yellowjackets tonight. I can’t believe I didn’t watch a single Best Feature Documentary, but I just didn’t think year. Anyhow, here are my thoughts for the 2025 Academy Awards.

Best Picture

Anora – rented on Amazon Prime
I was not expecting to enjoy Anora, nor was I expecting to keep reflecting on it weeks after I watched it. It has been compared to Cinderella or Pretty Women. A stripper dances for and falls in love with a young foreign man who whisks her off to a fantasy life. She allows herself to fully fall into this new life, but he is just playing around until his parents come in and put a stop to his foolishness. The character Anora is strong and emotional. It’s absolutely R rated, but I think it’s one of the best films I’ve seen in some years. I hope this one wins for Best Picture.

The Brutalist
I wanted to watch this one, but it wasn’t available for streaming in enough time for me to catch it.

A Complete Unknown
I don’t have much interest in watching this one, to be honest. So I didn’t.

Conclave – rented on Amazon Prime
I wanted to talk about Conclave with my Dad. I think he would have found it interesting. This film is a fictionalization about how a pope is chosen. I don’t recall it received points for accuracy. It’s not a “heavy” film. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, but I wouldn’t say it was the most touching or revolutionary movie I’ve ever seen. I don’t expect it will be one that will be remembered in five years.

Dune: Part Two
I tried to watch the original Dune (1984 version), which really had the most interest for me. But I just couldn’t get through it. I didn’t watch the remake, and I won’t watch the part two of the remake, either.

Emilia Pérez
My cousin Syd watched this one and didn’t recommend it. The main star had some horrible comments as well, so I didn’t watch it.

I’m Still Here
This one is pre-order only from Amazon, and so it didn’t make it into my viewing though I do want to see it. I’ll wait until it is streaming for free now.

Nickel Boys – rented on Amazon Prime
The way Nickel Boys was shot is really interesting. The view point is, like Bob said after I explained it, a first-person shooter video game in that you are seeing out of the protagonists’ eyes. The story, and the viewpoint, goes back and forth between the two main characters. This one is based on a book (I haven’t read it yet but will add it to my list after watching the film). I think this is an important film to see. I don’t expect it to win for best picture, but I encourage everyone to watch it.

The Substance
By the time I got around to this one, I was too burned out to rent it. I expect it will come to one of my streaming services at some point and I would like very much to see it. I am glad to see Demi Moore getting some much deserved praise for her work after all of these years.

Wicked
I read Gregory Maguire’s book when it came out and enjoyed it. So far, I just can’t get enthused about the movie although I’m not sure why except I don’t love Ariana Grande. I’ll probably see it at some point, but I’m not going to pay for it.

Best Animated Feature

Flow – Rented on Amazon
This film is also up for an International category for Latvia. So, I am indeed watching it, mostly in ten minute segments because that is all I can manage. This is a ME problem, not likely to be a problem for you. From what I’ve read, all of the animals in the movie survive so this isn’t one where the cat dies. Everyone loves this movie. I’d like to love this movie, too. I think this is just one of those things that working at the shelter has me at a disadvantage. I hear the cat’s noises of concern, worry, etc. and it stresses me out. I look at the cat and it reminds me of Silas, currently at the shelter. This is a post-apocalyptic film where only the animals survive. And I see the black cat and it goes back to what was its home and its person is dead and gone and the cat is left abandoned and alone. And it makes friends, but I can’t manage it. The cat is abandoned. Like I said, this is a me problem. And this is the last film I wound up on, and therefore it was the final burnout. I just can’t.

Inside Out 2
Didn’t watch Inside Out, the first one. Don’t have any interest in watching the second one, either.

Memoir of a Snail
While this one looked very interesting to me, I ran out of time/energy.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
I like Wallace and Gromit, but I don’t have the time to sit and watch this one. It’s not a top priority.

The Wild Robot – Peacock +
This film actually looked quite good, but I spent my money on other streaming services at this point and didn’t purchase Peacock.

Best Animated Short Film

Beautiful Men – Rented on Vimeo ($2.99)
This short film is just under 19 minutes. It looks like stop motion, but a more realistic version than claymation or something similar. The knit of a sock falling against a wall looks very detailed and textured. This film needs English subtitles to enjoy, and there is animated nudity so it’s absolutely not for children. Three Belgian brothers go to Istanbul, Turkey for a hair transplant. Upon arrival, one brother realizes a mistake has been made, and only one appointment is available. The brothers are nervous about their appointments, and become confrontational with each other. Because of a fire at the hotel, additional appointments open up. The film ends with all three brothers at home, each with a full head of hair. The quality of the animation is excellent. The story is a little unusual, as are most foreign films. Out of the ones I watched, this one is my favorite for Best Animated Short.

In the Shadow of the Cypress – rent on Vimeo
Animated shorts are not for children. This one is not for children. A father with PTSD destroys everything around him. His daughter loses faith and leaves. When she walks out, they discover a beached whale and work to get it back to safety. When the man lets go of his old comfort, he and the whale are released. I guess it turns out ok in the end, but it’s not a very nice journey getting there. 20 minutes.

Magic Candies
Not available for streaming.

Wander to Wonder – rent on Vimeo
Yeah, this one, just over 13 minutes, is another animated short that has me wondering WTF did I just watch. There’s some animated nudity again, and other…mature themes. Yeah. This one isn’t for me.

Yuck!
This one is available to rent on Vimeo but after watching Wander to Wonder I decided to not spend any more money, even $3.99, on animated shorts.

Best Documentary Short Film

Death by Numbers
Not available for streaming.

I Am Ready, Warden – Paramount +
This excellent film clocks in at 37 minutes and follows the last hours of life for John Henry Ramirez as he waits for execution for the murder of Pablo Castro. Castro’s son, Aaron, and Ramirez’ son, Israel, are both affected by the execution. District Attorney Mark Gonzales, struggling with the moral implications of the death penalty, asks that the sentence be commuted to life in prison; the appeal is denied. Texas has executed more individuals than any other state. I Am Ready, Warden, is a must-watch and will have you confronting your own thoughts on the death penalty. This was excellent, and I think it is my choice for Best Short Doc.

Incident – free from The New Yorker
This 30 minute short doc uses police cam footage to show what happened during a police shooting in Chicago in 2018. This one is hard to watch. The lack of hustle to get the victim EMS care, leaving him alone in the street bleeding. Yes, police officers have a hard job. But if they don’t have compassion or empathy, they are in the wrong profession. Not everyone they encounter is a criminal, and they need to remember that. A man, who had done nothing wrong and was just out walking on a hot summer day after work, was shot and killed by police. The only outcome was a 60 day suspension, and that was not for the officer who had killed the innocent man. The shooter received a two day suspension for not turning on his body camera in a timely fashion. This was a closer runner up for my choice for Best Short Doc.

Instruments of a Beating Heart – free on Vimeo
This short documentary, from the New York Times, runs 23 minutes. It follows a group of first grade students in Tokyo as they audition, practice, and perform Ode to Joy for the incoming first graders. We watch as student Ayame tries out unsuccessfully for the bass drum part, but then is successful for the cymbal audition. She struggles with her part, practicing, and her nerves, but in the end she plays her part in the concert. It is a lovely little short, subtitled in English, as it gives a brief look into Japanese education and the emotional struggles all children endure.

The Only Girl in the Orchestra – Netflix
I don’t currently have a Netflix account. There’s only so much money and so many different streaming services.

Best Live Action Short

A Lien – free on Vimeo
14 minutes, this film shows the reality of what happens when undocumented individuals are summoned to their green card interview. It is a kick in the stomach to watch. Half of our country thinks this is good. Spoiler alert: it is not.

Anuja – Netflix
Again, no Netflix account.

I’m Not a Robot – free on The New Yorker
22 minutes. I love this Dutch film. You’ll need the subtitles on. I have a feeling this one will stay with me. You know when you try to solve the captcha on a form to submit? This is what can happen if you can’t make the captcha believe you’re a human. Delightful!

The Last Ranger
Not available for streaming.

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent – rent on Vimeo
This film is 13 minutes and is devastating. It is a Croatian film, dedicated to the memory of Tomo Buzov who was murdered in the Štrpci massacre of 1993. So much is packed into this film. Although I really loved I’m Not a Robot, I think this one should win Best Live Action Short.

Best International Feature Film

I’m Still Here, Brazil – HBO Max
I don’t have a HBO Max subscription.

The Girl with the Needle, Denmark – Mubi
If you’ve been with me on the previous years of film review, you’ll know my thoughts on international feature films. They are not like American films. When I started this one and was taking notes, I jotted down “what did I get myself into with another foreign film,” and “good Christ, the plot on this one.” Good Christ indeed. Jesus himself would be made uncomfortable with this film. It’s shot in black and white, and of course, subtitles. Is it good? I don’t know how to answer that. It is incredibly well shot and the story line, which is noted to be based on a true story, is more than memorable.

Emilia Pérez, France
See above.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Germany – Rent on Amazon
This may be my favorite film altogether this year. A family in Tehran faces generational divisions between parents and teenage daughters during the student protests in 2022/2023. Distrust grows on both sides, until the unthinkable happens. This film made me wonder what Iran was like before the theocracy took over, and wonder if young Iranian women will ever have the freedom they deserve.

Flow, Latvia
See above.