Op-Docs

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

Highlights

A New Wave
Michael February, a boundary-breaking surfer and the first Black South African on the World Surf League Championship Tour, embarks on a transformative journey.
By Sandra Winther
CreditSandra Winther
1. Contractions
  In Memphis, a doctor and a volunteer driver contemplate the discontinuation of abortion services at a women’s health clinic two years after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
  By Lynne Sachs
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2. Where Am I From?
  In this short film, the new media artist Nouf Aljowaysir asks A.I. a question she’s struggled with since childhood.
  By Nouf Aljowaysir
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3. Ellis Island
  In the early 1970s, two high school filmmakers ventured out in a rowboat to make a 16-millimeter film about an abandoned space nearby: Ellis Island.
  By Phil Buehler and Steve Siegel
  Credit

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How the Ocean Is Liberating for One of South Africa’s Best Surfers
Michael February, a boundary-breaking surfer and the first Black South African on the World Surf League Championship Tour, embarks on a transformative journey.
By Sandra Winther and Michael February
Tennessee Abortion Clinic Workers Speak Out About the State’s Near-Total Ban
In Memphis, a doctor and a volunteer driver contemplate the discontinuation of abortion services at a women’s health clinic two years after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
By Lynne Sachs
I Asked A.I. Where It Thought I Was From. Its Answer: Nowhere.
In this short film, the visual artist Nouf Aljowaysir examines a question she’s struggled with since childhood.
By Nouf Aljowaysir
In 1974, Two Film Students Rowed to Ellis Island. Here’s What They Captured.
In the early 1970s, two high school filmmakers ventured out in a rowboat to make a 16 mm film about an abandoned space nearby: Ellis Island.
By Phil Buehler and Steve Siegel
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 an Alleged U.F.O. ‘Crash’ Teaches Us About Our Time on Earth
Why would a U.F.O. crash in Roswell, N. M., of all places? In 1994, the filmmaker Bill Brown set out on a road trip to explore the story from 1947.
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