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Documentaries and narrative short films from around the world.
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Screening Room
“Two People Exchanging Saliva”
Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata’s film, set in a dystopian version of Paris where kissing is forbidden and purchases are made through small acts of violence, won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short.
The New Yorker Documentary
The New Yorker DocumentaryHas Taking the Perfect Photo Ruined Tourism in “The Spectacle”?
Yasmin van Dorp’s short film depicts beautiful destinations—and the crowds of cell-phone photographers who inundate them.
The New Yorker DocumentaryGay Figure Skaters Pave Their Own Way in “Icebreakers”
Marlo Poras and Jocelyn Glatzer’s short film explores the legacy of the Gay Games as an all-inclusive answer to the Olympics—and celebrates the queer ice dancers striving to redefine their sport.
The New Yorker DocumentaryAn Artist Seeks Reinvention by Living Off the Grid in “Far West”
In Stephen Michael Simon’s documentary, Lala Abaddon leaves New York City and finds peace and creativity in her new hardscrabble desert home.
The New Yorker DocumentaryLives in Upheaval After an Eviction, in “Last Days on Lake Trinity”
Charlotte Cooley’s short film follows three women as they navigate months of uncertainty after the shuttering of a Florida mobile-home park.
The New Yorker DocumentaryThe Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
The New Yorker DocumentaryWhen a Crackdown Involving the I.R.A. Backfired, Comically, in “The Ban”
In 1988, when the British government declared that the voices of Sinn Féin or I.R.A. leaders were not to be heard, broadcasters soon discovered a loophole.
The New Yorker DocumentaryA Musical Indictment of the Harris County Jail in “Criminal”
Robe Imbriano’s documentary short uses music and animation to illustrate the grave injustices taking place at Houston’s notorious jail and in the cash-bail system at large.
The New Yorker DocumentaryGary Shteyngart’s Tragicomedy of the Penis in “The Guy Who Got Cut Wrong”
The author opens up—with pathos, humor, and props—about his experience receiving a botched circumcision.
The New Yorker Documentary“Cashing Out” Examines an Investment Strategy That Profited from AIDS Deaths
Matt Nadel’s documentary short explores the moral complexities of buying the life-insurance policies of H.I.V.-positive gay men.
The New Yorker DocumentaryReëxamining the American Dream in “The Last Carnival”
On the last day of carnival season, migrant workers keep the rides up and running for joyful kids, while they mourn lost time with their own families.
The New Yorker DocumentaryHow the Bonds Among Virtual-Reality Furries Saved a Life, in “The Reality of Hope”
A short film follows a friendship in the V.R.-furry community which turns into a radical act of generosity.
The New Yorker DocumentaryLife Inside a Singular Artists’ Enclave in Brooklyn, in “The Candy Factory”
Cory Jacobs and Jason Schmidt’s documentary short follows a creative community held together by collaboration and the efforts of a woman who is part landlady, part fairy godmother.
The New Yorker DocumentaryA Pioneering Photographer Revives Her Slide Show of Lesbian Life
Between 1979 and 1984, Joan E. Biren’s travelling images served as a vehicle for transformation and community building.
The New Yorker DocumentaryCan the Southern Baptist Convention Survive Without Women Pastors?
Leaders of the nation’s most powerful evangelical church try to cast women out of the ministry, igniting struggles over power, faith, and the church’s future in Daniel Lombroso’s short documentary “Hold the Line.”
The New Yorker DocumentaryArrested for Singing While Female, in “My Orange Garden”
In Anna-Sophia Richard’s short documentary, a woman sentenced to prison for singing in public in Iran both grapples with repression and longs for home.
The Screening Room
Screening RoomA Family Drama Over Gender in “Holy Curse”
In Snigdha Kapoor’s short film, an Indian preteen’s queerness is treated as something to be ritually cleansed—with unpredictable results.
Screening RoomThe Dream of Finishing One’s To-Do List in “Retirement Plan”
In John Kelly’s animated short film, narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, nothing’s off limits when it comes to thinking about the future—particularly when there’s so much left to do.
Screening RoomThe Maddening Disconnect of Phone Therapy in “Happy to Help You,” featuring Amy Sedaris
Jeremy Beiler’s short film follows a mental-health volunteer’s unravelling after a caller gets under his skin.
Screening RoomA Young Girl Questions Wearing a Head Scarf in “Rizoo”
Azadeh Navai’s short film follows a rebellious girl who asks questions about when and why she needs to wear a hijab.
Screening RoomA Woman Wonders if She’s Human in “I’m Not a Robot”
In Victoria Warmerdam’s short film, a series of failed CAPTCHA tests plunges a woman into a strange new reality.
Screening RoomA Relationship and a Nation in Turmoil in “Bogotá Story”
Esteban Pedraza’s short film examines the strain a young woman endures when she has to choose between her dreams and her family.
Screening RoomA Life-or-Death Decision Among Friends, in “Hamster”
A tragic accident turns a lighthearted gathering into a moral quandary for a young Iranian couple.
Screening RoomA 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.
Screening RoomFlirtation 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.
Screening RoomA Family Reunion with High Jinks and Catharsis in “Cousins”
In Karina Dandashi’s short film, a night out shortens the distance between two cousins.
Screening RoomRichard 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.
Screening RoomComing 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.”
Screening RoomGrief and Comedy Come Together in “Knight of Fortune”
In Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s short film, two widowers lean on each other for emotional support.
Screening RoomA Murdered Israeli Filmmaker’s Prophetic Warning, in “The Boy”
Yahav Winner’s final work captures the dissonance of life along the Israel-Gaza border.
Screening RoomClass, 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.
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Much of humanity has now watched—or scrolled past—extremely short shows about love and betrayal. How do Chinese companies create them?
Video Dept.
Behind the Scenes of In the Dark Season 3
The creators of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative series talk about reporting on the military, elevating the testimony of survivors, and the challenges of visualizing what happened that day in Haditha.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.