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Documentaries and narrative short films from around the world.

The New Yorker Documentary

Family Bonds Protect a Trans Teen in Texas

The documentary “Love to the Max” captures one family’s determination to live authentically in an anti-trans political climate.

Film by Tanya Selvaratnam and Rose BushText by Emily Witt

June 26, 2024

The New Yorker Documentary

Short films that offer uncommon perspectives on pressing global issues. See more »

The New Yorker Documentary
A Girl’s Forced Marriage in Post-Invasion Afghanistan, in “Hills and Mountains”
An accusation levelled against a teen-age girl changes the course of her life, in Salar Pashtoonyar’s documentary about life after the Soviet-Afghan war.
Film by Salar Pashtoonyar
The New Yorker Documentary
Black Joy and Artistry Hit the Pool in “Slice”
A Memphis tradition, the diving style known as slicing requires creativity, athleticism, and a lot of swagger.
Film by Zaire LoveText by Natalie Meade
The New Yorker Documentary
The Black Mothers Fighting to Get Their Kids Back, in “To Be Invisible”
Myah Overstreet’s film follows two women trying to regain custody of their children and explores the injustice of family separation.
Film by Myah Overstreet
The New Yorker Documentary
Connecting with Trans History, Rebellion, and Joy, in “Compton’s 22”
Drew de Pinto’s documentary explores the legacy of a 1966 riot in the Tenderloin that was nearly lost to history.
Film by Drew de Pinto
The New Yorker Documentary
Laughing in the Face of Dying Young, in “Cherry”
The actor Marie-Lise Chouinard faces her terminal-cancer diagnosis with grace and comedy in Laurence Gagné-Frégeau’s short documentary.
Film by Laurence Gagné-FrégeauText by Miguel Florencio
The New Yorker Documentary
An Iranian Woman Finds Her Might, in “The Smallest Power”
Both the subject and the makers of this animated short discover their identities and a new love of their nation.
Animation by Naghmeh FarzanehFilm by Andy SarjahaniText by Robin Wright
The New Yorker Documentary
Crashes and Community in “Demolition”
In Alec Sutherland’s short film, upstate New York’s demolition derbies are a loud, brutal, deeply physical antidote to the isolation of digital life.
Film by Alec SutherlandText by Zach Helfand
The New Yorker Documentary
Flipping the Script on Trans Medical Encounters
Noah Schamus and Brit Fryer’s short film offers a vision of how physicians and trans patients can meet one another on equal footing.
Film by Noah Schamus and Brit FryerText by Stef M. Shuster
The New Yorker Documentary
For Black Women, Embracing Natural Hair Is About More Than Style
Lindsay Opoku-Acheampong’s film “Textures” follows three women through the private and meaningful rituals of caring for their hair.
Film by Lindsay Opoku-AcheampongText by Natalie Meade
The New Yorker Documentary
A Teen-Ager’s Quest to Manage His O.C.D. in “Lost in My Mind”
In Charles Frank’s short film, a young man offers a candid look at life with O.C.D. and his experiences with exposure therapy.
Film by Charles FrankText by Eric Nelson
The New Yorker Documentary
A Ukrainian TikTok Influencer Shares Her Life as a Refugee in “Following Valeria”
Nicola Fegg’s short documentary follows a young woman who becomes a social-media star during the war in Ukraine.
Film by Nicola FeggText by Anna Kordunsky
The New Yorker Documentary
Roger J. Carter’s Toy Soldiers and Black Revolutionaries
Justin Fairweather’s short film “Roger J. Carter: Rebel Revolutionary” shows how the artist arrived at his innovative way of making portraits of Black figures.
Film by Justin FairweatherText by Yinuo Shi
The New Yorker Documentary
Bowling Without Sight, in “Friday Night Blind”
Scott Krahn and Robb Fischer’s short film follows a trio of friends who take part in a bowling league for people who are visually impaired.
Film by Scott Krahn and Robb FischerText by Vivian Cheng
The New Yorker Documentary
One Man’s Fight to Close the Racial Wealth Gap, in “The Barber of Little Rock”
John Hoffman and Christine Turner’s short film follows Arlo Washington as he helps members of his community escape the hazards of banking while Black.
Film by John Hoffman and Christine TurnerText by Maya Chesley
The New Yorker Documentary
A Pioneer of Echolocation for the Blind in “Echo”
The filmmakers Ben Wolin and Michael Minahan’s documentary short follows Daniel Kish, who uses clicks and echoes to listen his way through the world.
Film by Michael Minahan and Ben WolinText by Erin Neil

The Screening Room

Fictional short films that spark curiosity. See more »

Screening Room
A Life-or-Death Decision Among Friends, in “Hamster”
A tragic accident turns a lighthearted gathering into a moral quandary for a young Iranian couple.
Film by Fatima Nofely
Screening Room
A Father-Daughter Swearing Lesson in “The F-Word”
In Alex Cannon’s comedic short, starring Chris Gethard, a dad struggles to give an age-appropriate explanation of the expletive.
Film by Alex Cannon and Paul Cannon
Screening Room
Flirtation and Confrontation in “Sparring Partner”
In J. J. Kandel’s short film, the lunch-break banter of a flirtatious pair of co-workers, played by Cecily Strong and KeiLyn Durrel Jones, gives way to uncomfortable revelations.
Film by J. J. KandelText by Lauren Elyse Garcia
Screening Room
A Family Reunion with High Jinks and Catharsis in “Cousins”
In Karina Dandashi’s short film, a night out shortens the distance between two cousins.
Produced by Aya HamdanFilm by Karina DandashiText by Maggie Sheldon
Screening Room
Richard Kind on Making a Short Film About Making a Short Film
Max Cohn and Ellie Sachs’s short film, “Proof of Concept,” offers a humorous meta-riff on the movie business and a tour of the Upper West Side.
Film by Max Cohn and Ellie SachsText by Naomi Fry
Screening Room
Coming of Age While Confronting Arab Stereotypes, in “Simo”
An Egyptian teen-ager, living in the suburbs of Montreal with his brother and father, confronts the sting of racism at home, in the writer and director Aziz Zoromba’s film “Simo.”
Film by Aziz ZorombaText by Paul Moakley
Screening Room
Grief and Comedy Come Together in “Knight of Fortune”
In Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s short film, two widowers lean on each other for emotional support.
Film by Lasse Lyskjær NoerText by Eric Nelson
Screening Room
A Murdered Israeli Filmmaker’s Prophetic Warning, in “The Boy”
Yahav Winner’s final work captures the dissonance of life along the Israel-Gaza border.
Film by Yahav WinnerText by Daniel Lombroso
Screening Room
Class, Care, and Transitions in “Nauha”
In Pratham Khurana’s short film, about a young man working as a home health aide, resentment and tenderness exist side by side.
Film by Pratham KhuranaText by Eric Nelson
Screening Room
In “Troy,” Loud Sex, Thin Walls, Curious Neighbors
Mike Donahue’s funny and touching short film depicts a New York City couple and their very sexually active neighbor.
Film by Mike DonahueText by Douglas Watson
Screening Room
Inner Turmoil Meets Atmospheric Turbulence in “AIRHOSTESS-737”
A flight attendant tries to conceal physical and emotional pain with a coat of bright-red lipstick, in Thanasis Neofotistos’s short film.
Film by Thanasis NeofotistosText by Hannah Aizenman
Screening Room
The Temptations of A.I. Companionship in “Rachels Don’t Run”
In Joanny Causse’s short film, a call-center operator inserts herself into the relationship between a client and his A.I. girlfriend.
Film by Joanny CausseText by Noreen Plabutong
Screening Room
Quiet and Confrontation in “The Pass”
In Pepi Ginsberg’s short film, an innocent swim turns into a menacing encounter with homophobia.
Film by Pepi GinsbergText by Nathan Burstein
Screening Room
A Family’s Journey to Acting and Acceptance in “Foreign Uncle”
After Sining Xiang came out to his parents, he decided to dramatize the experience in a short film—and cast his loved ones as themselves.
Film by Sining XiangText by Yinuo Shi
Screening Room
An A.I.-Generated Film Depicts Human Loneliness, in “Thank You for Not Answering”
The artist Paul Trillo thinks of the A.I. filmmaking tools he used as “co-directing” the evocative short.
By Kyle Chayka

More Videos

The New Yorker Documentary

A Land-Mine Survivor’s Resilience, in “Carpenter”

Khalil Sahragard’s documentary short follows an amputee in Kurdistan who carves prosthetics for others who, like him, have lost limbs to explosives after the Iran-Iraq War.

The New Yorker Documentary

The Euphoria of Cold-Water Immersion in “Swimming Through”

In Samantha Sanders’s documentary short, a group of Chicago women find pandemic solace, in a death-defying winter ritual.

The New Yorker Documentary

An Intimate Cartography of Costa Rica in “Direcciones”

In María Luisa Santos and Carlo Nasisse’s short film, addresses suggest an alternative understanding of space and time.

The New Yorker Documentary

Revisiting New York’s Historic Abortion Law in “Deciding Vote”

Jeremy Workman and Robert Lyons’s film reconstructs the passage of a 1970 law that made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions, and cost a lawmaker his career.

The New Yorker Documentary

A Story of Black Joy and Family Names in “Parker”

Sharon Liese and Catherine Hoffman’s short film follows three close-knit generations through the process of changing their last name and unravelling some family history.

The New Yorker Documentary

Preparing to Fly in “Puffling”

In Jessica Bishopp’s meditative short film, teen-agers in Iceland make it their mission to rescue lost puffins.

The New Yorker Documentary

Two Perspectives on One Tragic Raid in Afghanistan

In “The Night Doctrine,” by Mauricio Rodríguez Pons and Almudena Toral, the experiences of U.S.-backed Afghan Special Forces soldiers, and of the civilians they targeted, come together in an intimate portrait of national trauma.

The New Yorker Documentary

Exploring the Imaginative Worlds of Blind Children in “The Unicorn in Snowpants Suddenly Ran Off”

Philipp Schaeffer’s film is a glimpse at the overlap of play and perception.

The New Yorker Documentary

The “Alpha Kings” Practicing Financial Domination Online

Enrique Pedráza-Botero and Faye Tsakas’s short documentary follows a group of friends in suburban Texas who make their living in the world of “findom” on OnlyFans.

The New Yorker Documentary

Rock and Roll and Elder Care in “Goldie”

In Billy Miossi’s short documentary, a cover-band front man brings music and exuberance to a quieter audience.

The New Yorker Documentary

“La Isla” Shows the Absences Left by El Salvador’s Mass Arrests

On a quiet fishing island, families whose fathers and sons were swept up in anti-gang arrests have become the collateral damage of a crackdown.

The New Yorker Documentary

Happiness Begins with Café con Leche, in “Encarnación”

In a low moment, the filmmaker David Pisonero Tarantino set out to learn how his great-aunt maintained her bright disposition.

The New Yorker Documentary

Ukrainian Artists Prepare for War in “Liturgy of Anti-Tank Obstacles”

A documentary short by the Ukrainian filmmaker Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk shows sculptors of religious statues using their tools and training for a new purpose after the Russian invasion.

The New Yorker Documentary

“Swift Justice” Looks Inside a Sharia Courtroom

The documentary offers an unrivalled glimpse into the heart of the Taliban’s Afghanistan, and into the truth that the West has failed to grasp about America’s longest war.

The New Yorker Documentary

A Deathly Rorschach Test in “Requiem for a Whale”

Ido Weisman filmed onlookers and officials who gathered around the body of a young whale on a Mediterranean beach.