Op-Docs

The Oscar-winning series of short documentaries by independent filmmakers.

Highlights

Will You Look at Me
When a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search of himself, a long-due conversation with his mother dives the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.
By Shuli Huang
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1. Roaches’ Lullaby
  In the 1970s, the filmmakers Claudia Weill and Eli Noyes interviewed New Yorkers across the city about their unwanted roommates: roaches.
  By Claudia Weill and Eli Noyes
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2. Everything’s Fine, Potatoes in Line
  In the midst of a political and environmental dispute between the Czech Republic and Poland over a coal mine, a potato salad contest is held in a small border town.
  By Piotr Jasiński
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3. An Act of Service
  Rob C., a firefighter in Idaho, undergoes psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in an attempt to address his PTSD.
  By Brandon Kapelow
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When I Look at You, Will You Look at Me?
A long-due conversation between a man and his mother sends the two of them on a quest for acceptance and love.
By Shuli Huang
New Yorkers vs. Cockroaches: ‘It’s Them or Me.’
In the 1970s, the filmmakers Claudia Weill and Eli Noyes interviewed New Yorkers across the city about their unwanted roommates: roaches.
By Claudia Weill and Eli Noyes
The Geopolitics of a Czech-Polish Potato Salad Competition
In the midst of a political and environmental dispute between the Czech Republic and Poland over a coal mine, a potato salad contest is held in a small border town.
By Piotr Jasiński
For a Firefighter Struggling With Trauma, Ketamine Therapy Offers Hope
Rob C., a firefighter in Idaho, undergoes psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy in an attempt to address his PTSD.
By Brandon Kapelow
What a U.F.O. Crash Teaches Us About Our Time on Earth
Why did a U.F.O. allegedly crash in Roswell, N.M., of all places? In 1994 the filmmaker Bill Brown set out on a road trip to explore the 1947 incident.
By Bill Brown
A Master of Dance Was Captured in a Film That Was Little Seen for Decades. Until Now.
Louis Johnson, the choreographer of “The Wiz,” could “outdance anyone.” Watch two rarely seen performances here.
By Richard Preston and Romaissaa Benzizoune
To Become a Lion
Both a ceremonial custom and a dynamic sport, lion dancing is a cultural practice that spans generations and continents.
By David Ma
Our Friend Is Gone, but He Lives Through Our Resistance in Myanmar
After the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, loved ones of the deceased artist and political prisoner San Zaw Htway wrote him letters as an act of remembrance and hope.
By Petr Lom and Corinne van Egeraat
Art’s Colonial Legacy: ‘It Would Have Been Better Not to Have Needed Museums.’
In this short film, Congolese artworks voice the poet and author Aimé Césaire’s words: “Colonization is thingification.”
By Matthias De Groof
Knitting Helps Us Embrace Life’s Messy Imperfections
Crafters across Britain speak to how knitting can help us heal, even at our most broken.
By Samantha Moore