A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films
Best Documentary Short Film has an infamous reputation for being one of the more difficult categories to conquer. Because of their obviously abridged length, they require less time in post-production, meaning they often cover more pressingly contemporary issues than feature length documentaries are able to. Therefore, this Oscar category is often filled with short documentaries that spotlight harrowing, upsetting subjects that are still very much impacting our current shared existence. But on the other hand, the quality of the documentary shorts nominated is often quite high. This year is no exception. Four of the nominees strike an equal balance of being upsetting in subject but (mostly) well done in execution. And then there’s one nominee that’s decidedly the apple to the oranges that are the other four films. But all five are worthy of examination, so let’s take a look at all of them and do our best to predict a winner. Check your local listings of where to catch them in theaters or online if available down below.
All the Empty Rooms (34m)
For Americans in particular, this is likely the hardest of the five nominated shorts to watch, as it covers a problem unique to our country that’s very much still ongoing with no solution in sight. Director Joshua Seftel shines a spotlight on broadcast reporter Steve Hartman who has independently taken on a project, along with photographer Lou Bopp. They travel across the country, documenting the often-untouched bedrooms of children who’ve been killed in school shootings. As on-screen text explains, the documentary picks up as “he has three rooms left to document.” Seftel follows Hartman as he speaks with the grieving parents and siblings of the murdered children, allowing them to share their memories of their lost loved ones. And the rooms themselves serve as silent memorials, filled with extraordinarily powerful remnants of lives cut short before they could barely even begin. Piles of dirty clothes, handwritten notes, lights that were left on, and numerous symbols of childhood that should be totally banal and ordinary suddenly have a haunting quality in the absence of their young owners.
The documentary also has a quietly infuriating energy that simmers below its mournful tone. It’s beyond upsetting that this project isn’t meant to simply encompass the fallout of one singular tragedy, but instead, it’s a national problem that sees Hartman crossing multiple state lines. Hartman is also shown reckoning with his own effect as a public-facing herald of the news. He describes how he had to come to terms with the fact that these stories, unlike many of the other ones that he’s reported on, don’t have happy or simple conclusions. He no longer wishes to try and find a positive angle, he simply wants to capture the loss that comes as a result of a distinctly American problem. Smartly, the film also intercuts footage of the children while they were alive, showing that they’re more than just statistics that indicate how widespread this horrible phenomenon is. Seftel’s documentary is gentle in its approach but crashes like a wave upon viewers. (Watch on Netflix here)
Grade: A-
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud (37m)
This film’s title says it all. It’s a portrait of photojournalist Brent Renaud, who was killed in Ukraine in March 2022, shortly after Russia’s attacks began. His brother Craig constructed this documentary that tells the story of his life through Brent’s own footage, intercut with material filmed after his death, centered around his grieving friends and family. Brent’s footage is striking, which isn’t surprising given the places and events that he made a living filming. As Craig makes clear, Brent seemed to be drawn to the most dangerous spots on Earth, such as war-ravaged Afghanistan and Iraq, post-earthquake Haiti, and other sites of violence and disaster. In this footage, it’s clear that Brent wanted to focus on the people affected by these catastrophes, to show how everyday citizens had been impacted by them.
Brent’s life makes for an interesting biography, but Craig’s construction of his late brother’s work doesn’t fully capture Brent’s abilities and perspective. The brevity and context-lite presentation of Brent’s past footage has the effect of making most of the film simply feel like a montage of human suffering and destruction. Despite this, the film still manages to be moving thanks to the inherently powerful subject matter. And Brent himself received a posthumous co-directing and producing credit (although strangely, he didn’t receive an Oscar nomination himself), thanks to the large amount of material in the film that was put together by him before his death. (Watch on HBO Max here)
Grade: B-
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” (36m)
Hilla Medalia’s documentary examines a specific aspect of one of the most pressing, urgent crises affecting our modern world: the war in Gaza. However, Medalie stays far from the frontlines of the Palestinian genocide, instead setting her film in Tel Aviv and focusing on a group of Israelis who defiantly protest against the war. But rather than storming the streets with provocative banners and chants, their protests are silent. Specifically, they seek to highlight the many Palestinian children who’ve been murdered by their own government. They do so by simply standing and holding signs that each show (if available) a photo of a deceased child from when they were alive, along with simple information about them. By staging a silent protest, they’re not required to obtain permits to gather in public.
As might be expected, their demonstrations evoke strong reactions from passers-by. While many look at the signs with quiet contemplation, they’re met with vocal, aggressive pushback from those blindly supportive of their governments’ actions. But the protestors don’t budge. They’ve been specifically instructed by their organizers to stand silent and still, which gives them an inherently striking presence. Medalia’s film is a necessary reminder that a governing body doesn’t speak for all of its citizens, and shows how vital it is that those who oppose the actions of their elected officials must make that clear both to their neighbors and to the world. It’s a powerful sentiment. The film, like the protests themselves, doesn’t do much to expand on the message being delivered besides simply showing it, which can make it feel a bit surface level, but it’s effective simply in its presentation. (Not currently streaming in the U.S.)
Grade: B+
The Devil is Busy (31m)
Some short form documentaries feel like they could be expanded to feature length, either because they seem to only tell part of their stories or because their scope is too broad and expansive to feel comfortable in a condensed runtime. Neither of these apply to The Devil is Busy. It brilliantly uses a singular setting as an example of a wider issue, keeping its focus perfectly specific. Directors Geeta Gandbhir (who is also nominated in Best Documentary Feature for The Perfect Neighbor) and Christalyn Hampton craft a captivating and enraging film about an Atlanta women’s healthcare clinic constantly besieged by anti-abortion protestors. Brilliantly, the filmmakers use a woman named Tracii who manages security as a narrator. The film opens with her as she arrives at the clinic before opening, showing her checking rooms and behind the building for possible intruders hiding and waiting to attack. From there, she’s our guide, talking about her personal experiences relating to the work done at the clinic and even going into the lives of the “resident protestors” (as she calls them), who’ve been preaching outside her job for so long that she knows their names and histories.
Gandbhir and Hampton also subtly but effectively show the toll that the downfall of Roe v. Wade and the tightening of restrictions on abortion access have had on the daily lives of the workers at the clinic. In Georgia, no abortions are allowed after a pregnancy has passed six weeks, which is before most women even realize they’re pregnant. The clinic workers are shown facing obstacles in the amount of care they’re able to provide and how they’re able to do so, and the way they have to stay professional and composed when dealing with these difficulties is beyond admirable. The filmmakers’ excellent use of perspective, both from Tracii and the technicians, puts a personal touch on a wide-ranging social and political issue. They’re film is short in runtime and small in breadth, but more impactful than some documentaries triple its length. (Watch here)
Grade: A-
Perfectly a Strangeness (15m)
And now, we get to the donkeys. Perfectly a Strangeness says it all with its title: it’s an odd, idiosyncratic film not just for this category but for the very medium of documentary filmmaking itself. In fact, given that there are no human characters present and the donkeys that the film centers around are charmingly given individual credits, there doesn’t seem to be much that would separate this from a narrative live action short. Indeed, the director-writer Alison McAlpine shoots the beasts of burden in such a way that projects thought and intention onto them.
The film is simple in premise and in length (it’s the shortest of all five nominees, clocking in at only 15 minutes where every single other contender is over 30). McAlpine’s camera follows a small herd of donkeys as they stumble upon and roam around the La Silla Observatory in Chile. McAlpine aligns the animals with the manmade structure’s purpose through stunning shots that pair the donkeys with the starry night sky. The film is stunningly captured, with some shots evoking the donkeys’ point of view through camera positions that are shockingly close to the animals. It’s an enjoyable short, especially for animal lovers, but compared to the other nominees, it feels extremely slight. There’s not much to it, but still, it’s pretty to look at. (Watch on HBO Max here)
Grade: B
Oscar chances:
Lately, Academy voters seem to favor uplifting films in this category, featuring charming subjects like music (The Only Girl in the Orchestra and The Last Repair Shop), animals (The Elephant Whisperers), and sports (The Queen of Basketball and Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)). In this year’s line-up, the only film that comes close to being uplifting is Perfectly a Strangeness, but the abstract nature and lack of human perspective probably makes it the least likely to win. In this case, it feels most probable that the Academy will drift to the familiar setting and subject (for American voters at least) of the emotionally affecting All the Empty Rooms. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s distributed by Netflix, which has won this category in four of the past 10 ceremonies. Clearly, they’re good at bringing attention to their documentary shorts in a way that’s effective with voters. However, it wouldn’t be too shocking if the emotional approach of Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud compelled voters to pick it.
He currently resides in Chicago and is a proud member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. He also writes and podcasts for Next Best Picture and co-hosts his own podcast “Halloweeners: A Horror Movie Podcast.” You can follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Bluesky @codymonster91
- A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films - February 26, 2026
- A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films - February 26, 2026
- A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films - February 26, 2026
A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films 
A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films 
A Guide to the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films 
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