Best Documentary Short Subject

The people of Britain resist the German air force and navy with help from North America.

"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the Japanese reinforcements.

Documentary short film depicting the harrowing battle between the U.S. Marines and the Japanese for control of the Pacific island of Tarawa.

This short propaganda film, produced at the end of World War II, warns that although Adolf Hitler is dead, his ideas of racial hatred, violence and conquest live on in the German people, and in like-minded people in the United States.

Postwar propaganda film in support of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Strident but poignant, focusing on children. The film surveys the Nazi/Japanese atrocities, post-war devastation and the early relief efforts. This film was responsible for raising over $200,000,000, making it a top moneymaking film.

A documentary short about the rehabilitation of people living with spinal cord injuries following World War II.

United Nations, 1947 - In this film one crippled child learns to walk: first to move, then to stand, and finally to take his first steps. The film deals with modern techniques of physiotherapy, and the need to develop the whole child - his emotions and his mind as well as his muscles - is stressed. Skilled adult workers offer not only massage and therapy, but also love and understanding, and occupational therapy for children and takes the form of both play and work. Movements learned become part of the daily jobs of feeding and dressing. Early attempts to walk are made with the help of apparatus. Finally the initially hesitant steps on his own are taken. As the film ends the boy walks.

This documentary short is part of The March of Time series. This one is about priest Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing setting up and running a Boys' Home in post-war Italy.

An illustration of the role public health agencies play in citizens' lives.

This film examines the reasons why the United States decided to engage in the Korean War. Scenes describe Russia's attempt to gain power following World War II (Korea included), and its refusal to allow free elections in the country. Footage shows Soviet-backed North Korean troops' movement into South Korea on June 25, 1950, the United Nations' response, and the armed struggle against both North Korean and later Chinese troops led by General Douglas MacArthur.

An orthopedic pediatrician wants to cure a scoliosis patient, but first he needs to convince the parents, who have rejected the child because of his disabilities.

A surreal story of two neighbours' destructive feud over a flower.

Depicts the everyday home life of the families in a typical Eskimo village. The building and hunting activities of the summer, the winter activities underground when the blizzards come, and the celebration of spring with the "mask dance" are all shown.

Won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary Short of 1954. The subject deals with the children at The Royal School for the Deaf in Margate, Kent. The hearing-handicapped children are shown painstakingly learning what words are through exercises and games, practicing lip-reading and finally speech. Richard Burton's calm and sometimes-poetic narration adds to the heartwarming cheerfulness and courage of the children.

Part of Walt Disney's People and Places series. This is the story of the "Icebreakers" - ships of very special construction that are built to make their way through the heavy Arctic ice packs on a trip to Thule.

A depiction of the lives of "ama" divers, Japanese women who dive for pearls.

Academy-Award winning short subject documentary that chronicles the Civil War through nearly 400 authentic artifacts, as opposed to using actors or sets.

Oscar® - winning short in which a young girl observes the array of quirky characters who pass her father's rural petrol station.

Documentary about Dutch glass production in the 50s.

Documenting the maiden voyage of the SS Hope, a hospital ship operated by Project HOPE, were it brought medical care to Indonesia and South Vietnam in 1960-1961.

An atmospheric tribute to the genius of Welsh poet and dramatist Dylan Thomas, using many of the windswept locations where Thomas himself grew up and found his inspiration. The film is hosted/presented by Richard Burton, Thomas's friend, who narrates the story and appears from time to time amidst the Welsh landscape. Burton had already appeared in Douglas Cleverdon's acclaimed BBC radio dramatisation of Thomas's 'play for voices' Under Milk Wood in the 1950s and, in the early Seventies, would appear in director Andrew Sinclair's film version as First Voice.

Chagall is a 1963 short documentary film directed by Lauro Venturi which focuses on the work of artist Marc Chagall.

The Arkansas school integration crisis and the changes wrought in subsequent years. This film profiles the lives of the nine African-American students who integrated Central High in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the fall of 1957. The film documents the perspective of Jefferson Thomas and his fellow students seven years after their historic achievement. Central to this story is their quiet but brave entrance into Little Rock High, escorted by armed troops under the intense pressure of the on looking crowd. We learn first hand their impressions of the past and present and their hopes for the future. Their selfless heroism broke the integration crisis and pioneered a new era. This film went on to win an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short in 1964. "...we honor them today but let us not forget to heed their lesson..."---President Bill Clinton

Documentary about the VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program.

"To Be Alive!" was designed to celebrate the common ground between different cultures by tracing how children in various parts of the world mature into adulthood.