Each year, when the Academy announces its nominations, there is always a certain frustration that comes with finding some of the smaller films in award contention. The 15 short films that receive nominations, in particular, are always tricky to find before the Oscar ceremony.
Thankfully, all of the 2018 Best Documentary Short Subject films are available to stream online for free or with a subscription.
Most of the shorts in this category have been acquired and are being distributed by platforms that have online services. Most accessible is Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405, which is available to stream for free on Youtube via IndieWire’s Youtube channel.
Similarly, Laura Checkoway’s Edith+Eddie is available on Topic.com. It is also part of a limited theatrical run, being screened in various cities as a pre-roll to the Oscar-nominated doc feature Abacus: Small Enough to Jail.
Two of the other shorts are available with subscriptions to services that many people already have. Heroin(e) is currently available to stream on Netflix. And Traffic Stop is owned by HBO. It will be brought to streaming via HBO Go and HBO Now on Feb. 16. HBO will also air the short on their station on Feb. 19 at 7:00pm.
The fifth nominee, Knife Skills, was recently acquired by Conde Nast. Like with last year’s nominee in this category, Joe’s Violin, it can be screened via The New Yorker’s “The Screening Room” video series.
If you are looking to see the five nominees on the big screen, or if any of these screening options become unavailable as we move closer to the Oscar ceremony, the Academy puts on special programs across the country to screen the Oscar-nominated short films. According to Deadline, this is scheduled to happen starting the weekend of Feb. 9. This roadshow program is made available via ShortsTV, and will have separate programs for each of the three short film categories.
As always, thanks for reading!
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—Alex Brannan (@TheAlexBrannan)