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BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM OF 2021

Winner - A Man In Chain (United Kingdom/Ghana) | Dir. Alireza Mirasadollah

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Issa is a 29 year old man held by chains. In the past 14 years, through winter and summer, rainy seasons and drought, he has been tethered around a thick, solid tree root within the sight of the family hut. He cannot move beyond the earthen circle allowed by his two-meter-thick metal chain.

Finalist - You Can't Automate Me (Netherlands) | Dir. Katarina Jazbec

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Before container-ships leave port, lashers secure the containers using heavy metal bars. They are the last port workers to do such dangerous jobs surrounded by self-driven vehicles and remotely operated cranes. Each body tells its own story: from grieving for a colleague who died on the job to just keep going. Stowaway animals appear as visions of a more natural world. Website

Finalist - Garage Romantic (New Zealand/Russia) | Dir. Dan Sadgrove

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A big dreamer from the small town of Togliatti, Russia ponders life while building a rocket powered sled made from discarded trash. Website

Finalist - They Call Me Dax (Canada/The Phillipines) | Dir. Patrick Alcedo

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Fifteen-year-old Dorothy struggles to survive as a high school student and ballet dancer. Fondly called Dax by her friends, she lives by herself in a poor district in Quezon City, Philippines, a sprawling urban space of three million people.

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