2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

The First Drop of Rain: Making MATAR

Follow the emotional journey of Hiba Noor, a talented artist forced to flee her home country, as she navigates a new life in London while awaiting her asylum fate. This film takes you on a journey into the production of MATAR, a short film about a fellow asylum seeker facing similar problems.

Sea Sorrow

A very personal and dynamic meditation on the current global refugee crisis through the eyes and voices of campaigners, specially children, where past and present establish a dialogue. A reflection on the importance of human rights.

The UFO Movie THEY Don't Want You to See

In an age when misinformation, alternative facts, and conspiracy theories have become mainstream, UFOs have risen to become one of the most-talked about pop culture phenomena. With all of this noise, how can we expect anyone to know how much of this is true? What is in our skies? What do we know, and how do we know it? And most importantly: Are we being visited?

The Standard Deviants: The Adventurous World of College Algebra, Part 1

Required study by high schools and colleges, algebra has been a notorious stumbling block for students. Without a solid foundation in algebra, however, you cannot expect to do well in more advanced math and science courses, such as calculus, physics and chemistry. Suitable for students of all ages, this DVD presents the three basic principles of algebra in a clear, fun and approachable manner: functions, algebraic properties and linear equations.

The Standard Deviants: The Candy-Coated World of Calculus, Part 1

Revised 1998 version. Beginning with a review of functions and graphing, Part 1 jumps into the world of calculus by covering limits, vertical and horizontal asymptote, slopes and derivatives. The Standard Deviants take students by the hand and walk them through the most difficult topics with a relaxed and approachable format, step-by-step illustrations and plenty of examples.

This Is My Land

Israeli-born director Tamara Erde visits six independently-run Israeli and Palestinian schools to investigate how history is taught in this contested region.

オロ

A 6-year-old Tibetan boy leaves his family and flees to a refugee camp in northern India.

Enemy Alien

A Palestinian activist's fight for freedom draws a Japanese American filmmaker into confrontation with detention regimes of past and present.

قضیه شکل اول... شکل دوم.

First Case, Second Case is a documentary about a teacher who sends a group of pupils out of the classroom when one of them does not own up to talking behind the master's back.

Moving to Mars

Moving to Mars charts the epic journey made by two Burmese families from a vast refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border to their new homes in the UK. At times hilarious, at times emotional, their travels provide a fascinating and unique insight not only into the effects of migration, but also into one of the most important current political crises - Burma.

Song of Umm Dalaila, the Story of the Sahrawis

The film takes place in the Saharawi refugee camps in Algeria against the historical backdrop of Spanish colonialism and the Moroccan invasion of the Western Sahara. The Saharawi women, who make up 80% of the adult refugee population, provide a powerful voice as they reveal how they came to assume primary responsibility for the survival of the remains of their families and in turn the entire refugee population.

The Last Season

In search of the lucrative matsutake mushroom, two former soldiers discover the means to gradually heal their wounds of war. Roger, a self-described 'fall-down drunk' and sniper in Vietnam, and Kouy, a Cambodian refugee who fought the Khmer Rouge, bonded in the bustling tent-city known as Mushroom Camp, which pops up each autumn in the Oregon woods. Their friendship became an adoptive family; according to a Cambodian custom, if you lose your family like Kouy, you must rebuilt it anew. Now, however, this new family could be lost. Roger's health is declining and trauma flashbacks rack his mind; Kouy gently aids his family before the snow falls and the hunting season ends, signaling his time to leave.

History on the Run: The Media and the '79 Election

This documentary examines the media's coverage of the Canadian federal election of May 1979. Filmed over a 3-week period, it takes a fascinating look at journalists in action and the politicians who attempt to manipulate the media.

Draussen bleiben

ואלס עם באשיר

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

Acabou a Paz: Isto Aqui Vai Virar o Chile

Irregulars

Each year 400.000 people from Africa, Asia and Middle East, try to enter Europe. They flee from war, persecution and poverty. Since the ways by land have been interrupted, they board overloaded vessels and face a dangerous and often deadly voyage across the Mediterranean.

The Valley

As thousands of migrants attempt to cross the French-Italian border on foot through treacherous mountain routes, the state cracks down on the local communities that come to their aid in this revealing look at an unfolding human rights crisis.

El dibujo de Frida

Frida, a deaf girl, shows us La Casa del Sordo through her eyes and hands: a space where deafness ceases to be a barrier and becomes the identity of an entire community.