Documentary Shorts: 2019 SXSW Film Festival Selections [Video]

Our 2020 Film Festival lineup will be out soon (mid-January 2020), so in the meantime, check out some of the Documentary Shorts that played in 2019.

The Documentary Shorts Competition are slices of life from across the documentary spectrum. Follow the stories of a U.S. Marine who turns to ballet to cope with the effects of war to the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles, who fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home for generations.

The winner of the Documentary Shorts competition becomes Oscar qualified and is eligible for the Academy Awards. If you want to indulge in more shorts, take a look at our SXSW Film Festival Vimeo Channel.

2019 SXSW Documentary Shorts Selections

Exit 12

Director: Mohammad Gorjestani

After two tours in Fallujah in the Iraq war, U.S. Marine Roman Baca came home a different person. To deal with the effects of war, Roman turned to an unlikely place, ballet.

Guns Found Here

Director: David Freid

A surprisingly non-fictional tragicomedy about how America traces a gun involved in a gun crime back to its owner.

Life in Miniature

Director: Ellen Evans

A celebration of one woman’s mission to document the everyday, as she carves a place for herself in the precious world of miniatures.

The Separated

Director: Jeremy Raff

An unflinching look at one family’s experience being forcibly separated at the U.S.–Mexico border.

The Trial

Director: Jeremy Raff

Meet the lawyers tasked with defending 9/11 suspects against the U.S. government.

Other Documentary Shorts that were part of the SXSW 2019 program, but are not yet available to watch on Vimeo include:

• All Inclusive | Director/Screenwriter: Corina Schwingruber Ilić
• Anas v. the Giant | Director: Adrienne Collatos
• Liberty | Director/Screenwriter: Faren Humes
• Ghosts of Sugar Land | Director: Bassam Tariq
• In the Dark | Director: Jessie King
• Lowland Kids | Director: Sandra Winther
• Trans In America: Texas Strong | Director: Daresha Kyi

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*Film stills courtesy of the filmmakers