Maybe it’s the titles I selected, or maybe this year’s crop of Hot Docs short documentaries is just really really strong, but many of my fave films screened so far have been under 30 minutes long. Here are seven shorts that I think deserve a spot on your festival to-see list!
Bloody Mess (8/8)
Who’da thunk a uterus could be ADORABLE? Or cheeky? Or funny? Apparently, director Megan Wennberg did, as evidenced by this wickedly clever and hilarious stop-motion-animation “profile” of her problematic uterus (voiced by Susan Kent) and its fibroids. (Screening in the Persister shorts program.)
The Conscience Files (7/8)
As the saying goes, if you’re gonna trek through Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, don’t take anything but memories with you when you leave. Director Brian Bokter’s contemplative (and cautionary!) eco doc is filled with letters of regret sent to park rangers from visitors who didn’t heed the warning signs, took artifacts illegally, and then found themselves beset with hardships from theft to illness to divorce… and worse. (Screening with Lichens Are the Way.)
Delta Dawn (7/8)
Director Asia Youngman combines archival footage with present-day interviews and reenactments to paint a rich and multi-layered portrait of former Canadian pro wrestler Dawn “Princess Delta Dawn” Murphy, her in-the-ring persona, and her groundbreaking career in the 1980s and ‘90s. (Screening in the Persister shorts program.)
My Memory-Walls (8/8)
Axel Robin’s charming short doc profiles artist Rose G. Lévesque who, over the past 25+ years, has transformed her humble bungalow into a colorful art museum by painting a series of 35 murals — including landscapes and surrealist tableaus — on its previous blank interior “canvases.” (Screening in the Through the Cracks shorts program.)
Plunge (7/8)
One woman’s body-image issues and self-acceptance, and the unexpected physical, emotional and psychological benefits that emerge when she tries — and comes to love — cold-water swimming, are all tackled in this heartfelt and whimsical animated short from director Ellie Land. (Screening in the Persister shorts program.)
A View from Home (8/8)
I was completely smitten with this simple yet unexpectedly engrossing short about transition from director Mingzhe Zhou, who points his stationary camera at a park behind his Toronto apartment to capture the everyday goings-on — from dog walkers to boot-camp classes to softball games — from season to season. With an excellent use of music, and set against the backdrop of his phonecalls to his family back in China, it’s a truly lovely little meditative nugget of a film. (Screening with Night Watches Us.)
Voices from the Abyss (7/8)
Shot a bit like a Herb Ritts music video, this poetic, visually stunning B&W short from director Victor Rejón profiles some of the men, women and children who go cliff diving at La Quebrada in Aculpulco, Mexico. The divers — of all ages and shapes — reflect on their super-high-risk sport, their injuries and fears, and the deep-rooted history that fuels their passion. (Screening in the Learning to Fly shorts program.)
Check out more of our Hot Docs 2025 coverage here!
