Oscars Short Documentary Nominees

In this special episode three of the five nominees for this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) join us to discuss their films.  

When We Were Bullies, by the Award-winning director and writer Jay Rosenblatt, follows Jay as he tracks down his fifth-grade class and their teacher to examine their memories of and complicity in a bullying incident over 50 years ago.

We are next joined by award-winning director and producer Matthew Ogens. His short documentary Audible, produced by Netflix, follows football player Amaree McKenstry-Hall and his Maryland School for the Deaf teammates, as they attempt to defend their winning streak while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Ben Proudfoot discusses his short doc The Queen of Basketball, which tells the largely unknown story of Lusia Harris, the first and only woman to be officially drafted into the NBA.

“I love using the short documentary format to circumvent the traditional gatekeepers of what kind of stories get told.” - Ben Proudfoot

00:00 - Introducing the guests and their films.
03:00 - Introducing Jay Rosenblatt and what When We Were Bullies is about.
03:45 - What inspired Jay to make a film about bullying.
05:00 - Different memories people had around one incident of bullying.
09:02 - What it’s like meeting your fifth-grade teacher as an adult.
12:05 - Introducing Matthew Ogens, the director of Audible.
12:35 - How it feels to be nominated for an Oscar.
13:22 - What Audible is all about.
14:00 - How Matt met Amaree and his classmates.
15:24 - The different subjects Audible covers.
18:48 - What Amaree is doing now.
20:10 - What attracted Matt to make a short film and what it’s like working with Netflix.
22:36 - The next documentary Matt is working on.
24:07 - Introducing Ben Proudfoot, the director of The Queen of Basketball.
25:15 - What The Queen of Basketball is all about.
26:18 - Why Lusia Harris is not more well-known in the world.
27:46 - How Ben found out about Lusia and what influenced him to make the film.
29:53 - The way Lusia portrayed herself to the media.
31:28 - What her life was like up until now.
32:19 - Why Ben likes making short documentaries so much.
33:45 - How he gets funding for documentaries.
36:53 - The next projects Ben is working on.

When We Were Bullies (2021)
Audible (2021)
The Queen of Basketball (2021)
The Smell of Burning Ants (1994)
MovieMaker Magazine
Innersound Audio
Alamo Pictures

Connect with Jay Rosenblatt:
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IMDb

Connect with Matthew Ogens:
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Connect with Ben Proudfoot:
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Connect with Matthew Sherwood:
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