Please watch more short films! FirstShowing has proudly supported and promoted short films for more than 10 years. We love shorts! Many of the very talented filmmakers working today got their start in Hollywood by launching with a short (e.g. Wes Ball with Ruin / Dan Trachtenberg with Portal: No Escape). As a year end recap looking back at 2022, I've listed 14 of my favorite short films below to give them some extra attention. Each one of these shots is embedded directly in the post via YouTube and they're worth a watch. All of them! Whichever one catches your eye, just click play and enjoy. Shorts are amazing because you can do anything - animation, sci-fi, musical, comedy, whatever comes to mind. From an awesome mashup like Uncharted vs Tomb Raider vs Indiana Jones to a lovely tribute with Volcano Pilot to an inspiring doc like Joe Buffalo to an amusing made-at-home sci-fi comedy like Black Hole.
- 12/23/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"I just never thought I was professional enough… I've made some mistakes over the years that eventually caught up with me. Jail damaged my spirit." This outstanding short documentary film is absolutely worth a watch. Joe Buffalo premiered last year via The New Yorker, playing at the SXSW, Tribeca, and Doc NYC Film Festivals. Thanks to a reminder from our friends at Short of the Week, it's available online. It's a very humble, honest portrait of a skateboarder. Telling the story of a boarding school survivor who overcomes his past (and inner demons) to become an Indigenous skate legend. Directed by Amar Chebib, and executive produced by Tony Hawk, skater Joe Buffalo talks about how he had to overcome addiction and trauma stemming from his years in Canada's Church-run school system. It's quite tragic and sad, but also strangely uplifting and inspiring when he really gets into the ups & downs of his story.
- 10/18/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Summer of Soul is picking up steam as awards season accelerates.
The documentary directed by Amir “Questlove” Thompson, which showcases the long-forgotten music-powered Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, earned a leading four nominations for the International Documentary Association Awards today, a day after winning the top prize at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. The IDA recognition came for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Music Documentary and Best Editing.
Earning three IDA nominations apiece were Faya Dayi, director Jessica Beshir’s poetic evocation of Ethiopia, where she spent part of her youth, and Not Going Quietly, director Nicholas Bruckman’s documentary about liberal activist Ady Barkan, who was diagnosed with Als in 2016. Bruckman and Beshir will compete for Best Director with Thompson, Jacinta’s Jessica Earnshaw and Flee’s Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Jacinta and Flee also scored Best Documentary nominations [see full list of nominations below].
Ten films were nominated for Best Feature,...
The documentary directed by Amir “Questlove” Thompson, which showcases the long-forgotten music-powered Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969, earned a leading four nominations for the International Documentary Association Awards today, a day after winning the top prize at the Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards. The IDA recognition came for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Music Documentary and Best Editing.
Earning three IDA nominations apiece were Faya Dayi, director Jessica Beshir’s poetic evocation of Ethiopia, where she spent part of her youth, and Not Going Quietly, director Nicholas Bruckman’s documentary about liberal activist Ady Barkan, who was diagnosed with Als in 2016. Bruckman and Beshir will compete for Best Director with Thompson, Jacinta’s Jessica Earnshaw and Flee’s Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Jacinta and Flee also scored Best Documentary nominations [see full list of nominations below].
Ten films were nominated for Best Feature,...
- 11/15/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The 2021 International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards has revealed the nominations for Best Feature and Best Short. In a year crowded with festival hits and critically hailed nonfiction (see the Critics Choice Documentary Award winners), with more debuts unspooling at Doc NYC, every reputable nonfiction awards group helps to curate the sprawling list of eventual Oscar contenders, and the IDA is no exception.
A number of films, including nominations leader “Summer of Soul” (four nominations), “Faya Dayi” and “Not Going Quietly” (three) and animated Danish Oscar submission “Flee” (two), keep turning up on early awards lists. But top dog NatGeo’s high-profile, well-reviewed titles “The Rescue,” “Becoming Cousteau,” and “Fauci” were left out in favor of an international selection of less-hyped titles. (“First Wave” scored the Pare Lorentz award plus a cinematography nomination.) PBS earned 14 nominations across its programming strands, followed by Netflix and Hulu each with seven nominations and HBO with six nominations.
A number of films, including nominations leader “Summer of Soul” (four nominations), “Faya Dayi” and “Not Going Quietly” (three) and animated Danish Oscar submission “Flee” (two), keep turning up on early awards lists. But top dog NatGeo’s high-profile, well-reviewed titles “The Rescue,” “Becoming Cousteau,” and “Fauci” were left out in favor of an international selection of less-hyped titles. (“First Wave” scored the Pare Lorentz award plus a cinematography nomination.) PBS earned 14 nominations across its programming strands, followed by Netflix and Hulu each with seven nominations and HBO with six nominations.
- 11/15/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The 2021 International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards has revealed the nominations for Best Feature and Best Short. In a year crowded with festival hits and critically hailed nonfiction (see the Critics Choice Documentary Award winners), with more debuts unspooling at Doc NYC, every reputable nonfiction awards group helps to curate the sprawling list of eventual Oscar contenders, and the IDA is no exception.
A number of films, including nominations leader “Summer of Soul” (four nominations), “Faya Dayi” and “Not Going Quietly” (three) and animated Danish Oscar submission “Flee” (two), keep turning up on early awards lists. But top dog NatGeo’s high-profile, well-reviewed titles “The Rescue,” “Becoming Cousteau,” and “Fauci” were left out in favor of an international selection of less-hyped titles. (“First Wave” scored the Pare Lorentz award plus a cinematography nomination.) PBS earned 14 nominations across its programming strands, followed by Netflix and Hulu each with seven nominations and HBO with six nominations.
A number of films, including nominations leader “Summer of Soul” (four nominations), “Faya Dayi” and “Not Going Quietly” (three) and animated Danish Oscar submission “Flee” (two), keep turning up on early awards lists. But top dog NatGeo’s high-profile, well-reviewed titles “The Rescue,” “Becoming Cousteau,” and “Fauci” were left out in favor of an international selection of less-hyped titles. (“First Wave” scored the Pare Lorentz award plus a cinematography nomination.) PBS earned 14 nominations across its programming strands, followed by Netflix and Hulu each with seven nominations and HBO with six nominations.
- 11/15/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The International Documentary Association has announced nominations for its 37th annual awards, with “Summer of Soul” picking up four noms and “Not Going Quietly” nabbing three.
Winners will be announced Feb. 5 at the awards ceremony at Paramount Studios.
“Summer of Soul,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s look at 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival, picked up nominations for Thompson for director in addition to best feature, best music doc and best editing. “Not Going Quietly,” about healthcare activist Ady Barkan, received noms for Nicholas Bruckman for best director along with best feature and best writing.
IDA members may vote online for the best feature and best short categories starting Dec. 13.
PBS earned 14 nominations, followed by Netflix and Hulu with seven nominations each and HBO with six. This year’s submissions included 314 documentary features, 137 shorts, 172 series, 54 student films, 29 music docs and 41 audio documentaries or podcasts.
Here’s the full list of 2021 nominees:
Best Feature...
Winners will be announced Feb. 5 at the awards ceremony at Paramount Studios.
“Summer of Soul,” Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s look at 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival, picked up nominations for Thompson for director in addition to best feature, best music doc and best editing. “Not Going Quietly,” about healthcare activist Ady Barkan, received noms for Nicholas Bruckman for best director along with best feature and best writing.
IDA members may vote online for the best feature and best short categories starting Dec. 13.
PBS earned 14 nominations, followed by Netflix and Hulu with seven nominations each and HBO with six. This year’s submissions included 314 documentary features, 137 shorts, 172 series, 54 student films, 29 music docs and 41 audio documentaries or podcasts.
Here’s the full list of 2021 nominees:
Best Feature...
- 11/15/2021
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
It’s a curious fact that some of the most notable documentaries of recent years have revolved, in one or another, around skateboarding.
Minding the Gap, the 2018 documentary by Bing Liu, earned an Academy Award nomination for its story of Liu and two friends who gravitate towards skateboarding as an escape from difficult upbringings. Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), director Carol Dysinger’s 2020 film on a skateboarding school in Afghanistan that caters to girls, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.
Skateboarding plays a central role in Joe Buffalo, a short documentary directed by Amar Chebib that’s a contender for Oscar consideration this year. The film centers on the eponymous Joe Buffalo, who was born to a family of Samson Cree heritage on the plains of Alberta, Canada. As a kid he saw a cousin pull off tricks on a board and became hooked himself.
Minding the Gap, the 2018 documentary by Bing Liu, earned an Academy Award nomination for its story of Liu and two friends who gravitate towards skateboarding as an escape from difficult upbringings. Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), director Carol Dysinger’s 2020 film on a skateboarding school in Afghanistan that caters to girls, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.
Skateboarding plays a central role in Joe Buffalo, a short documentary directed by Amar Chebib that’s a contender for Oscar consideration this year. The film centers on the eponymous Joe Buffalo, who was born to a family of Samson Cree heritage on the plains of Alberta, Canada. As a kid he saw a cousin pull off tricks on a board and became hooked himself.
- 10/10/2021
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
The 28th SXSW Film Festival revealed the Audience Award winners Tuesday, with Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free, The Fallout and Not Going Quietly among the list of honorees. The news comes after the online edition of the fest announced its jury awards.
The Mary Wharton-directed docu Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free chronicles the iconic musician’s work on his lauded 1994 record Wildflowers via newly discovered archived footage. The film won the Audience Award in the Headliners category, while The Fallout, Megan Park’s reflection on teen grief and trauma after a mass shooting — something all too familiar right now — won under the narrative feature competition banner. On the documentary competition banner, Nicholas Bruckman’s moving feature docu Not Going Quietly took the Audience Award.
Over the course of five days of SXSW Online, the SXSW Film Festival screened 75 features including 57 world premieres, three international premieres, four North American Premieres,...
The Mary Wharton-directed docu Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free chronicles the iconic musician’s work on his lauded 1994 record Wildflowers via newly discovered archived footage. The film won the Audience Award in the Headliners category, while The Fallout, Megan Park’s reflection on teen grief and trauma after a mass shooting — something all too familiar right now — won under the narrative feature competition banner. On the documentary competition banner, Nicholas Bruckman’s moving feature docu Not Going Quietly took the Audience Award.
Over the course of five days of SXSW Online, the SXSW Film Festival screened 75 features including 57 world premieres, three international premieres, four North American Premieres,...
- 3/23/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
The documentary “Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free” and Megan Park’s “The Fallout” won the audience awards from the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, it was announced Tuesday.
Mary Wharton’s “Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free,” which tells the backstory behind the late rock star’s “Wildflowers” recording sessions, won among the three headlining films playing the festival. “The Fallout,” a teen drama starring Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler, won the audience prize for narrative features after it also won the category’s jury prize.
“Not Going Quietly,” a documentary by Nicholas Bruckman about progressive political activist Ady Barkan and his fight with Als, won the audience award for films in the documentary feature competition. Director Natalie Morales also won the Narrative Spotlight audience award for her film “Language Lessons,” and Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler won the Documentary Spotlight Audience Award for “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.
Mary Wharton’s “Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free,” which tells the backstory behind the late rock star’s “Wildflowers” recording sessions, won among the three headlining films playing the festival. “The Fallout,” a teen drama starring Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler, won the audience prize for narrative features after it also won the category’s jury prize.
“Not Going Quietly,” a documentary by Nicholas Bruckman about progressive political activist Ady Barkan and his fight with Als, won the audience award for films in the documentary feature competition. Director Natalie Morales also won the Narrative Spotlight audience award for her film “Language Lessons,” and Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler won the Documentary Spotlight Audience Award for “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.
- 3/23/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
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