2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

Ilse

April 2017 •English

When Ilse Cruz was a toddler, she and her mom immigrated from Mexico to Chicago in search of better opportunities. Now a passionate dancer and ambitious high school student, Ilse hopes to go to college and one day visit the family she left behind. However, her undocumented status pushes these dreams further out of reach. Halfway through her senior year, Ilse learns her DACA permit qualifies her for a special document that allows her to return to Mexico. Through a life-changing trip, Ilse reconnects with her family and Mexican roots – and her legal re-entry to the U.S. fast-tracks her application process for permanent residency. Six months after she graduates from high school, Ilse obtains her green card – mere weeks before Donald Trump takes office. While Ilse’s mother rejoices in these unexpected events for her daughter, her own fate grows ever more uncertain.

The Crossing

May 2015 •English

A first-hand account of the perilous journey made by a group of Syrian refugees. Traversing land and sea on an old fishing boat manned by smugglers, the nail-biting journey leads to Europe where the refugees disperse. Each must battle to stay sane and create an identity among the maze of regulations and refugee hostels. The Crossing shows us the lengths to which people go to find safety and forge their own destiny.

Fahrenheit 9/11

June 2004 •English

Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ukraine-Poland: The Border of Solidarity

May 2022 •French

Since 24 February 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, several million refugees have already been taken in by Poles. In the Lublin region, near the Bug River, which marks the border with Ukraine and Belarus, farmers, shopkeepers, a photographer, and a teacher tell how their daily lives have been transformed by the outbreak of this war.

Great Raids of World War II

June 2006 •English

Showcases a series of daring raid made by various sections of the British military during World War II. The raids highlighted are "Stopping Hitler's A-Bomb", "Prison Busters", Radar Beam Raiders", "Storm at St. Nazaire", "Cockleshell Raiders" and "Arctic Commando Assaults". Each raid is analyzed, the reasons for it taking place, the planning and execution plus the results and consequences.

Le IIIe Reich n'aura pas la bombe

September 2019 •French

Sky and Ground

November 2017 •English

Three generations of the Nabi family flee their home in Aleppo and try to make it to safety in Germany where some members of the family have already settled. Along the way they suffer countless setbacks and heartache.

America; I Too

March 2017 •English

Three arrested and detained undocumented immigrants must navigate the system to fight impending deportation.

War for Peace

March 2020 •Ukrainian

War with Russia on the east of Ukraine through the director's lens who stayed for a year in the centre of the conflict zone. He became a paramedic volunteer and continued filming everything what was happening in front of his eyes, making a rare true document of this brutal war that continues to happen in the centre of Europe.

A Portrait of Keiichi Tanaami

September 2010 •Japanese

The first international DVD release of Keiichi Tanaami, the wizard of the Japanese experimental film and animation world. With this program, discover the pulsations of a singular artist for whom animation rhymes with imagination, exuberance, poetry and eroticism.

Henry Browne, Farmer

November 1942 •English

Henry Browne, an African American farmer, and his family are profiled in this film. The important job of a farmer during times of war is highlighted, specifically his efforts growing peanuts and cotton. This role is made even more poingnant when they visit the eldest son who is a cadet in the 99th Pursuit Squadron.

The War Is Over

September 1945 •English

A short film about the end of World War II and Canada's contribution to the effort.

Babylon

July 2012 •Arabic

After the insurrection erupted in Libya in the spring of 2012, more than a million people flocked to neighboring Tunisia in search of a safe haven from the escalating violence. When a massive refugee camp was hastily constructed near the Ras Jdir border checkpoint in Tunisia, a trio of filmmakers carried their cameras in and began filming with no agenda. This on-the-fly chronicle of the camp's installation, operation, and dismantling captures a postmodern Babel complete with a multinational population of displaced folk, a regime of humanitarian aid workers, and international media that broadcasts its “image” to the world. Visually stunning and refreshingly undogmatic, Babylon reveals a rarely seen aspect of the Arab Spring.

Faceless Heroes

July 2012 •English

Brussels, Béguinage church. Migrants organize a hunger strike to obtain papers. A man dies. Tunisia, Libya. A border camp of Choucha refugees tell the horror of crossing the Sahara to the north. Liège. In a refugee center, a man narrates his Mediterranean crossing in a chamber of air. Three moments of a battle for survival.

Gaza

January 2019 •English

GAZA brings us into a unique place beyond the reach of television news reports to reveal a world rich with eloquent and resilient characters, offering us a cinematic and enriching portrait of a people attempting to lead meaningful lives against the rubble of perennial conflict. Throughout its entire history the Gaza Strip has been witness to conflict and upheaval. From ancient times this tiny coastal territory, located at a crossroads between continents, has been a pawn whose fate rested in the hands of powerful neighbours.

Kaisa's Enchanted Forest

June 2016 •Finnish

Examines the extraordinary lifelong friendship between Skolt Sámi storyteller Kaisa Gauriloff and the Swiss-Russian author Robert Crottet through the eyes of Gauriloff’s great-granddaughter Katja.

New Home in the West

January 1943 •English

This short film traces the journey of the first Ukrainian settlers in Canada. Seeking freedom and opportunity, they came here and became instrumental in helping to open the Canadian West. Though they had little in the way of money or machinery, they had courage and faith in the future and were willing to put in the hard work. Every member of the family helped in the struggle, and in time, their efforts paid off.

Will of the Warrior

December 2013 •English

Behind-the-scenes documentary focusing on Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor of a four-man Navy Seal team ambushed by the Taliban in 2005.

We are Soldiers

October 2020 •French

Tree Ukrainian volunteers, injured during the war with the Russians and the separatists, are treated at the military hospital of Kyiv. Three generations, three social environments, three different regions. Dmytro, Oleksii and Anatolii are recovering, hoping and preparing for their future.

Five Years North

June 2020 •English

Five Years North is the coming-of-age story of Luis, an undocumented Guatemalan boy who just arrived alone in New York City. He struggles to work, study, and evade Judy - the Cuban-American ICE officer patrolling his neighborhood.