2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

野火

In the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier afflicted with tuberculosis is abandoned by his company and left to wander the Philippine island of Leyte.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Set in the years before and during World War I, this epic tale tells the story of a rich Argentine family, one of its two descending branches being half of French heritage, the other being half German. Following the death of the family patriarch, the man's two daughters and their families resettle to France and Germany, respectively. In time the Great War breaks out, putting members of the family on opposing sides.

Bağlar

An underdog basketball team under the helm of an idealist school teacher from hard scrabble Diyarbakir in Southeastern Turkey goes beyond winning games in their mission to rise above prejudice, poverty and political turmoil created by the decades long conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who are fighting for local autonomy and cultural rights.

Testament of Youth

Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.

Beyrouth, Le Dialogue Des Ruines

Architecture in Beirut was the second greatest victim of the civil war, with pages of ancient and modern history erased by the end of the conflict. This documentary interviews citizens calling for a reconstruction plan that would preserve Beirut’s spirit of culture and openness.

Jungle Heat

Towards the end of the Vietnam war, the US is running low on drivers for their supplies so they bring in a new lot of recruits and have to train them to survive in the dangers of wartorn Vietnam. The recruits are trained briefly by an American officer but are quickly handed off to their South Vietnamese officers and are made to go out into the dangers of Vietnam without getting the protection they need by the Americans who are more concerned with withdrawing their own troops instead of protecting the South Vietnamese

Bunker

Two isolated Canadian soldiers come to grip with a difficult order: launch a nuclear strike against the former USSR, some 25 years after the end of the Cold War.

Legiony

A universal story about entering adulthood in difficult times, growing up to the community. The great history is the background for the love story unfolding in the foreground: Józek, a deserter from the tsarist army who joins the emerging Legions, an intelligence agent for the I Brigade and Women’s Leage member – Ola, and Tadek, her fiancée, a member of Shooting Team.

The Lost Battalion

Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.

Shipbuilder

This film recreates the true story of Tom Sukanen, an eccentric Finnish immigrant who homesteaded in Saskatchewan in the 1920s and 1930s. Sukanen spent ten years building and moving overland a huge iron ship that was to carry him back to his native Finland. The ship never reached water.

102 år i hjärtat av Europa

102 Years in the Heart of Europe: A Portrait of Ernst Jünger (Swedish: 102 år i hjärtat av Europa) is a Swedish documentary film from 1998 directed by Jesper Wachtmeister. It consists of an interview by the journalist Björn Cederberg with the German writer, philosopher and war veteran Ernst Jünger (1895-1998). Jünger talks about his life, his authorship, his interests and ideas. The actor Mikael Persbrandt reads passages from some of Jünger's works, such as Storm of Steel, The Worker, On the Marble Cliffs and The Glass Bees.

Coming Home

In 1968 California, a Marine officer's wife falls in love with a former high school classmate who suffered a paralyzing combat injury in the war.

For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots

This High Definition, PBS miniseries uses letters, diaries, speeches, journalistic accounts, historical text and military records to document and acknowledge the sacrifices and accomplishments of African-American service men and women since the earliest days of the republic.

But... Seriously

A documentary juxtaposing the events of the 20th century with the commentary of stand-up comedians.

The War Around Us

In 2008 two best friends found themselves trapped in one of the most dangerous places on earth - the only western journalists in the Gaza Strip on what was supposed to be a 24-hour assignment. The War Around Us captures the collision of veteran war correspondent and one of TIME's most 100 influential people, Ayman Mohyeldin, with rookie reporter Sherine Tadros. As missiles shower the city and unspeakable atrocities emerge, the pair is torn by fierce professional rivalry, private terror and grim humor - with no way out and the whole world watching.

Prelude to Axanar

Prelude to Axanar is a short film that will give viewers a historical look at the events leading up to the Battle of Axanar, the central event of the film Axanar. The short is a historical look at the battle of Axanar, filmed like a History Channel special. Each character will give a different view of the war with the Klingons leading up to the final confrontation that will be chronicled in Axanar, which will be released later this year. Prelude will tell viewers about the war and what it meant to each side. Figures from both sides will talk about how the war started, how the Klingons were better prepared for war, how Starfleet built their fleet, and how the war was fought from both the Federation and Klingon perspectives. You will hear from Robert April talk about building the Enterprise, Starfleet Admiral Ramirez talk about building the Starfleet, Garth of Izar telling the story of his rise to fame and Kharn, the Klingon Supreme Commander give the Klingon view of the war.

Jordan River Anderson, The Messenger

The story of a young boy forced to spend all five years of his short life in hospital while the federal and provincial governments argued over which was responsible for his care, as well as the long struggle of Indigenous activists to force the Canadian government to enforce “Jordan’s Principle” — the promise that no First Nations children would experience inequitable access to government-funded services again.

There's Something in the Water

Elliot Page brings attention to the injustices and injuries caused by environmental racism in his home province, in this urgent documentary on Indigenous and African Nova Scotian women fighting to protect their communities, their land, and their futures.

Hidden Colors 5: The Art of Black Warfare

The history of warfare as it relates to global Black society, broken down into 7 chapters that examines the ways the system of racism wages warfare from a historical, psychological, sexual, biological, health, educational, and military perspective.