The five films nominated for the documentary short subject Oscar, in the words of the poet, hit you hard and soft. They delve into crimes and their aftermaths, celebrate a trailblazer and delicately touch on the hopes of one young schoolgirl.
‘Death by Numbers’
Though its central event is the sentencing of the Parkland school shooter, “Death by Numbers” is really about how such stories don’t end when the news coverage does. The film follows Parkland survivor Samantha Fuentes.
Director Kim Snyder says that when Fuentes addressed the convicted killer, who had expressed white-supremacist sentiments, in open court before his sentencing, she spoke powerfully about the youth trauma that resulted from his violent attack. “Her having the courage to face this guy and say what she needed went beyond guns. It’s resonating for people because it’s really about standing up to hate in all its forms.”
‘I Am Ready, Warden’
A former Marine commits a brutal murder during a robbery. Years later, he’s captured, convicted and sentenced to death. “I Am Ready, Warden,” based on reporting by L.A. Times writer Keri Blakinger, chronicles the period leading up to the 2022 execution of John Henry Ramirez in Texas, as well as the impact of the crime on the victim’s now-grown son, Aaron Castro.
Director Smriti Mundhra was with Castro when the news broke that Ramirez, who had become a devout Christian while on death row, had been executed. “It was one of the most emotionally charged things I’ve ever filmed,” says Mundhra. “I think he was unprepared to hear those words. It was like a punch in the gut for me [as well] to hear those words.
“We really believed John had changed. And we really believed Aaron needed and deserved closure for all the years of trauma he had to carry. We had to hold those two truths in our heads and hearts at the same time.”
‘Incident’
In 2018, a Chicago barber was stopped by police who’d noticed he had a gun. He showed them his concealed-carry permit, but after a sudden altercation, he attempted to flee and was shot to death. Filmmaker Bill Morrison assembled a multiperspective view of the fatal “Incident” through available video footage, including from police body cams.
“I think the power of the film is that it keeps delivering shocking revelations,” he says. For instance, though the victim’s gun was never drawn, footage shows two officers discussing how “he had the gun and pointed it right at” the officer who fired.
The footage also shows the lack of attempts to revive the suspect lying motionless in the street. “I thought that it was a stronger choice to use what was available to the public, rather than interview people or introduce other sources,” says Morrison.
‘Instruments of a Beating Heart’
Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s film doesn’t tackle big sociopolitical issues, but it’s just as compelling as documentaries that do. “Instruments of a Beating Heart” delicately observes the ups and downs of a Japanese first-grader working to participate in a school performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”
Yamazaki spent a year at a school with a thousand kids. Her eventual subject, Ayame, “was so special, and I was waiting, praying, hoping for something to unfold. She was always not quite with the program. Always a little bit late but also had a strength, guts. So, when she epically failed her first audition, then came back the next day to go for another instrument, I knew ….”
Of a scene in which a teacher comforts Ayame when she’s upset after being strictly corrected by the band director, Yamazaki recalls, “She says, ‘Don’t worry; I’ll be scolded with you.’ Both my camera guy and myself, we just lost it.’ ”
‘The Only Girl in the Orchestra’
Orin O’Brien was the first woman to be a full-time member of the New York Philharmonic, hired in 1966 by Leonard Bernstein himself. The accompanying ballyhoo struck a dissonant chord. The child of movie stars, she shunned the limelight, picking an instrument — the double bass — that blends within the ensemble. She resisted her documentarian niece’s attempts to tell her story for years.
“It wasn’t until she was thinking of retiring, during the pandemic in 2021, that she finally said yes,” says filmmaker Molly O’Brien. Her aunt agreed to participate only after “I finally got her to trust I was going to make a film that was uplifting about the double bass — which is misunderstood; the underdog of the orchestra — uplifting classical music and uplifting women in the orchestra.”
