2020 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts

The 5 documentary shorts are eye-opening, revelatory and impactful.  The most painful doc.  "In the Absence" is a disturbing  reminder of the S. Korean ferry that sank in 2014 killing more than 300 people; most were school children.  All aboard were instructed to remain in place despite the vessel tipping at an alarming angle.  This heartrending & upsetting doc. shows how this tragedy should've been circumvented and these lives saved.  The cowardly captain vacated the ship on the 1st of few rescue boats that approached. Footage of the deadly debacle & voice recordings testify to the incredulous dismissal of the distressed vessel.  Pres. Park was removed from office for her flagrant failure to respond & fraudulent pretense.  The interviews from parents whose children drowned were excruciating.  A candid interview from a student who survived is distressing.  This is an indelible expose of a horrific, preventable tragedy that never should have occurred and its profound aftermath.  "Life Overtakes Me" was a shocking revelatory look at Resignation Syndrome (RS); a comatose state that more than 400 children have succumbed without a medical explanation.  RS has afflicted children whose families fled the former USSR & Balkan countries seeking asylum in Sweden. Viewing the families whose daughter & son have been non-responsive & completely dependent on caregivers stunned & baffled me.  RS has been met with skepticism.  However, seeing the girl in the remain in this state for more than 6 months & the male teen who has remained in a coma-like state for nearly 2 years is deeply troubling and mystifying.  How does a part of the brain disconnect itself from being conscious?  "St. Louis Superman" a doc. of Bruce Franks Jr., a Ferguson activist.  His w persistence won him a seat in the predominately white House of Rep. in MO.   Franks Jr., succeeded in passing a bill calling youth violence a public health issue.  Unfortunately, the doc. fails to clarify how this bill impacts the community or what measures Franks Jr., wanted the bill to achieve.  "Walk Run Cha-Cha" made in the US, is a pleasing love story of two Vietnamese refugees who found each other & together found expressive freedom in dancing.  It's a delightful & elegant look into this long-time married couple's life and the liberating joy found in dance.  The winner for Best Short Doc. (deservedly) is "Learning to Skateboard in a War-zone (if You're a Girl)"" shot in Afghanistan. The film hovers about young girls with limited opportunities in life for education & athletics.  The Afghani women who are shaking things by teaching them to read, write & ride skateboards are heroic.  A great doc. like this one, takes you into a world unbeknownst, connects you with people and ties you to humanity.  Bravo to the women who are expanding these young girls lives and to the young women taking these changes in stride with pride.