LOS ANGELES — This year's Oscar-nominated documentary short films immerse us in the worlds of deaf teens on the cusp of adulthood, the homeless epidemic and a family displaced by war but striving for a brighter future. We meet one of the greatest, groundbreaking, champion athletes of whom most of us had never heard. And we follow a filmmaker's uncomfortable journey into a bullying incident in his past.
"Audible": The immersive film drops the audience into the world of a reigning football-champion high school: Maryland School for the Deaf. Sports form the backdrop, but it's all about the accepting, supportive community there.
"There's still gonna be drama and conflict; it's high school," director Matt Ogens says. But there's remarkable inclusiveness among the kids. "I think it's because they share this bond — Black, white, gay, straight — they all have [deafness] in common, no matter what. Being deaf is a culture, it's a community.
