2018 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

The year’s most spectacular Documentary short films.

Ghosts of Attica

Documentary about Attica prison riot and lawsuits to get compensation for the victims of these events.

My Marlboro City

Brindisi, Italy: a focal point in cigarette smuggling. The director returns to her hometown to see what's left of the past and what lies in store for the future.

The Feminist on Cellblock Y

A convicted felon builds a feminist movement from behind bars at an all-male prison in Soledad, California.

From Prison: Young Devil Worshipers

Devil worship? Could it be real? Follow up to Devil Worship: Exposing Satan's Underground.

La fuga

The internal journey of eight men, who, through a theater workshop, go through the different prisons they inhabit. Practicing the art of seeing themselves, in Boal's words, this group of men reflects on their masculinity as a representation to hide their true strength: their vulnerability.

Temps mort

An exchange of video messages between an artist and an inmate, a surprising and intimate portrait from behind prison walls.

À double tour

Under His Influence

A social media influencer falls for an inmate and starts a crusade to prove his innocence, but after they win his appeal, she uncovers a dark secret that changes her life.

Freigang

Single mother Kathi receives day release from prison and finds her three-year-old son, who is living with her unstable mother, in bad circumstances. She is forced to find a way to enable a better future for him, while time is against her, she has to be back in prison at six pm.

Chasers

Military men Rock Reilly and Eddie Devane are tasked with taking a prisoner, blonde bombshell Toni Johnson, on what becomes an unforgettable road trip. Toni, an enlistee who's in trouble for deserting her unit, soon proves that she's craftier than most inmates.

Madea Goes to Jail

After a high-speed car chase, Madea winds up behind bars because her quick temper gets the best of her. Meanwhile, Assistant District Attorney Josh Hardaway lands a case that's too personal to handle: that of a young prostitute and former drug addict named Candace, also a childhood friend. When Candace winds up in jail, Madea takes the young woman under her protective wing.

White Heat

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.

A Prophet

Sentenced to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena is alone in the world and can neither read nor write. On his arrival at the prison, he seems younger and more brittle than the others detained there. At once he falls under the sway of a group of Corsicans who enforce their rule in the prison. As the 'missions' go by, he toughens himself and wins the confidence of the Corsican group.

In Hell

A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainment.

Seer Was Here

Made for the landmark anthology series, For the Record, Seer Was Here is an example of the bold dramatic programming made at the CBC in the mid-70s, while theatre director John Hirsch was serving as the head of the drama department. Saul Rubinek plays an inmate of a cruel Vancouver prison who brings humour, warmth, a little joy and self-understanding to the fellow prisoners of his cell block. An irreverent satire also featuring Eric Peterson and Martin Short. “Absolutely great, It’s also funny. Very Funny. Very Warm. Very touching… in some ways, a Canadian One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” (Calgary Herald, 1978)