Documentary Shorts 1
Division
A longtime New Yorker must rely on a friend when he finds himself unexpectedly called away.
Becoming Taylor
Becoming Taylor is an intimate, character-driven portrait of a teenager redefining her future. Separated from her mother at the age of two due to a 22-year crack addiction, Taylor grew up navigating environments that often labeled her before she had the chance to define herself. Through the “SuperSeed” youth mentorship program run by Families of Conviction, Taylor uses the discipline of boxing to process her trauma, reshape her identity, and rebuild a bond with her now-sober mother.
Monster Slayer
Monster Slayer is a short animated documentary that follows LA artist and dancer Stephanie "Monty" Montgomery after she’s sexually assaulted at the strip club where she works. When the system fails her—ignored by management and dismissed by police—Monty turns to the one tool she has left: her art. Through a bold public act of protest, she transforms her trauma into a visual reckoning, reclaiming both her story and her space. Using Monty’s own drawings brought to life through animation, the film immerses us in her experience and exposes the broader culture of silence, stigma, and systemic neglect that so many survivors, especially those in sex work, face.
shut the fuck up, when WE speak
Deep in the heart of Texas, five Black musicians reflect on art, identity, and the radical act of making noise in a world that wants them silent.
A Place We Can Go
Back in 2016, there was a tragic fire at the beloved “Do-It-Yourself” art and music collective “The Ghost Ship” in Oakland, California, where 36 people lost their lives. In the aftermath of this fire, a neo-nazi group on 4chan, the “Right Wing Safety Squad,” assembled to create a master list of DIY venues across the US to “crush the radical left,” or rather, call local law enforcement and pretend to be concerned citizens.
On that list was the iconic Fort Worth DIY venue, info shop, and lending library, 1919 Hemphill. After being targeted by this 4chan group, 1919 began a turbulent battle to stay open, but eventually closed in 2019. Despite this huge loss for the scene, DIY in DFW still lives on today.
“A Place We Can Go” sheds light on how DIY venues create safe spaces for Texans to exist, despite the pressing forces against progressive spaces.
Survival Without Rent
On May 30, 1995, New York's mayor Rudy Giuliani sent an armored tank down East 13th Street to evict a community of squatters and arrest dozens of protestors. Survival Without Rent follows a vibrant community as they illegally take over abandoned buildings in the 1980s and form a haven for artists and activists. Told with rare archival footage and oral histories, the film provides a glimpse into this anti-capitalist world on New York's old Lower East Side.
A longtime New Yorker must rely on a friend when he finds himself unexpectedly called away.
Becoming Taylor
Becoming Taylor is an intimate, character-driven portrait of a teenager redefining her future. Separated from her mother at the age of two due to a 22-year crack addiction, Taylor grew up navigating environments that often labeled her before she had the chance to define herself. Through the “SuperSeed” youth mentorship program run by Families of Conviction, Taylor uses the discipline of boxing to process her trauma, reshape her identity, and rebuild a bond with her now-sober mother.
Monster Slayer
Monster Slayer is a short animated documentary that follows LA artist and dancer Stephanie "Monty" Montgomery after she’s sexually assaulted at the strip club where she works. When the system fails her—ignored by management and dismissed by police—Monty turns to the one tool she has left: her art. Through a bold public act of protest, she transforms her trauma into a visual reckoning, reclaiming both her story and her space. Using Monty’s own drawings brought to life through animation, the film immerses us in her experience and exposes the broader culture of silence, stigma, and systemic neglect that so many survivors, especially those in sex work, face.
shut the fuck up, when WE speak
Deep in the heart of Texas, five Black musicians reflect on art, identity, and the radical act of making noise in a world that wants them silent.
A Place We Can Go
Back in 2016, there was a tragic fire at the beloved “Do-It-Yourself” art and music collective “The Ghost Ship” in Oakland, California, where 36 people lost their lives. In the aftermath of this fire, a neo-nazi group on 4chan, the “Right Wing Safety Squad,” assembled to create a master list of DIY venues across the US to “crush the radical left,” or rather, call local law enforcement and pretend to be concerned citizens.
On that list was the iconic Fort Worth DIY venue, info shop, and lending library, 1919 Hemphill. After being targeted by this 4chan group, 1919 began a turbulent battle to stay open, but eventually closed in 2019. Despite this huge loss for the scene, DIY in DFW still lives on today.
“A Place We Can Go” sheds light on how DIY venues create safe spaces for Texans to exist, despite the pressing forces against progressive spaces.
Survival Without Rent
On May 30, 1995, New York's mayor Rudy Giuliani sent an armored tank down East 13th Street to evict a community of squatters and arrest dozens of protestors. Survival Without Rent follows a vibrant community as they illegally take over abandoned buildings in the 1980s and form a haven for artists and activists. Told with rare archival footage and oral histories, the film provides a glimpse into this anti-capitalist world on New York's old Lower East Side.
Where is it happening?
The Kessler, 1230 W Davis St,Dallas, Texas, United States
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherOak Cliff Film Festival
