Documentary Shorts Oscar Nods

Born and raised in Pitt Meadows, singersongwriter Danielle Ryan is making a name for herself on country radio. After receiving a Top-6 spot in the 2016 Canadian Country Music (CCMA) Discovery program and winning the Country Music Television (CMT)’s Chevy From the Tailgate Contest, Ryan secured a deal with 604 Records and hasn’t looked back since. There is no doubt that her passion for songwriting and curating fun, entertaining tracks will get her far in the industry.

Mar. 2 marked the release of Ryan’s most recent music video, “Take Me Back,” and the track has been getting lots of attention on local radio stations and from country music fans. With her top single “Weather Man” hitting over 100K plays on Spotify and nearly 150K views on Youtube, Ryan is no doubt quickly becoming a fan favourite.

“This was such a fun video to create,” she said when discussing her recent music video. “I hope that it makes you guys smile too.”

“I guess you could say that it was kind of by accident,” Ryan said, explaining that she didn’t always strive to be a part of the music industry. As a child, she sang with her church choir and picked up musical theatre before scoring a spot on a kid’s TV show.

“I made it on the show and from [there, I] started pursuing music because I loved it so much. I never really sat down and thought about pursuing a career in music. It was something that just kept building. New contests and opportunities kept coming and I just kept rolling with it.

“I don’t remember ever sitting down and saying ‘I’m gonna be a musician,’ and I don’t remember ever saying I want to quit. Mostly because I had bought too much gear by then and wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

As a songwriter, many of her songs are influenced by the people around her and the experiences she encounters. “[I’m inspired] by things I experience, what my friends experience. Relationships and fallouts. My day-to-day. Sometimes I just hear something in a TV show, or someone says something about their boyfriend, and [that] inspires a whole entire song.”

Ryan reflected on the importance of authenticity and not being too critical of yourself when trying to break into the industry.

“Always be honest. This is something [that] someone told me from the beginning and it was probably the most helpful advice. It’s really easy to fudge the truth to make yourself look better but it will just hurt you in the end. [Next] is to not give up. I know it’s lame to say, but I even look back on songs that I created a couple of years back and I can see just how much I’ve grown. There’s a perfect time for everything. And I think if you stay at it long enough, eventually something will happen for you.

“The music industry is a funny thing. There’s no set way on how to make it. You just kinda roll with the punches and pray that you meet the right people.”

Be sure to follow Danielle Ryan on her socials @DanielleRyanMusic and check out her website www.DanielleRyanMusic.com to get updates on any upcoming events and new music announcements.

Danielle Ryan. (Karolina Turek)

The 94th Academy Awards took place on Sunday, Mar. 27. The Oscar-nominated short documentaries feature true stories of homelessness, a sports prodigy, bullies, Deaf football players, and a newly married Afghan refugee — with The Queen of Basketball taking the win.

Audible - Matthew Ogens - 39 min

Audible follows the life of Amaree McKenstry-Hall, a student at Maryland School for the Deaf. Matthew Ogens, the film’s director, spent 12 years trying to create a student-focused documentary before Netflix greenlit the project in 2019.

The film primarily tells the story of McKenstry-Hall and his school football team, who lose after a 42-game win streak. But the film also dives into McKenstry-Hall’s rocky relationship with his dad, who left his family after McKenstry-Hall lost his hearing as a toddler; the suicide of McKenstry-Hall’s close friend; and the anxieties and hopes of entering the hearing world after graduation.

The documentary is different from any movie I’ve seen because the majority of the film is spoken in American Sign Language. With a slower pace and subtle music, it’s an exploration of Deaf culture and student life.

Lead Me Home - Pedro Kos and Jon

In this documentary, co-directors Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk tackle the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. They interview dozens of individuals who have found themselves homeless from a variety of factors — high rent, abuse, family rejection, and mental health issues.

It was striking to see shots of tents and sleeping bags contrasted with shots of high-rise apartment windows and SUVs. The world of homelessness is not severed from the rest of us. Their subjects include pregnant women, individuals with jobs, and young families. The film not only shows the typical portrayal of homelessness — doing laundry at the laundromat, packing their belongings in grocery carts — but also shows these individuals experiencing moments of joy and normalcy, such as reading books, dancing, and being in love. It’s vulnerable. It’s humanising.

In the credits, they show a list of all the individuals they featured — putting a name, a real person, to the faces of homelessness.

The Queen of Basketball - Ben Proud-

Lucy Harris was a three-time national college champion, an Olympic silver medalist, and the only woman drafted by the NBA. Director Ben Proudfoot recorded her story in a 22-minute documentary about her life and her short basketball career. And if Shaquille O’Neal and Steph Curry are two of the executive producers, you know this is a player worth hearing.

The film shows close-ups of Harris telling her story, filling the frame with her confident smile and her natural storytelling, along with televised game coverage, black-and-white photos, and newspaper articles. Harris played with Delta State University and eventually with Team USA in the 1976 Olympics. Harris was the first female player to score an Olympic basket.

The documentary itself is not a grand piece of media, but its simplicity allows Harris to shine through. She shows a mix of confidence and complete humility as she speaks and laughs. She’s a woman who knows her worth.

“I have good memories about basketball,” she said simply.

Three Songs for Benazir - Gulistan Mir-

Three Songs for Benazir tells the story of Shaista, a young Afghan man living in a Kabul displacement camp. He struggles between his dream of joining the National Army, making quick money through opium harvesting, and starting a family with his new bride, Benazir. Directors Elizabeth and Gulistan Mirzaei, an Afghan-American couple who personally know Shaista, chose to make this documentary to show a more hopeful and resilient narrative of life in Afghanistan. “This mix of joy and sorrow, forever existing simultaneously in Afghanistan, is something we have tried to capture in our films,” they wrote in a blog post.

An interesting creative choice was to jump four years after Shaista tried to join the National Army. It takes a surprising turn to an addiction treatment centre; without the context of those four years, the change in thematic content left me with many questions and not enough answers. The film could have reached its full potential if they had chosen to feature more of Shaista’s journey to that centre.

Regardless, it shows the committed love between husband and wife, and the resilience of Afghan people.

When We Were Bullies - Jay Rosenblatt

Disclaimer: As the film is released on the day of this newspaper’s printing, I didn’t have the opportunity to watch this film.

This documentary follows Jay Rosenblatt as he remembers a childhood bullying incident from 50 years ago. The filmmaker decides to track down his classmates, all of whom were involved in the bullying, to hear their perspectives and memories of the schoolyard incident.

“I remember the circle and the chanting,” one woman said.

What emerges is, supposedly, a deeper understanding of bullying, complicity, and memory. However, not everyone agrees with Rosenblatt’s tone and message. For some, it felt like Rosenblatt’s intentions were to make himself feel better, or that the incident was too narrow for the audience to connect with. Regardless, the documentary’s creativity and theme allowed When We Were Bullies to find its way towards an Oscar nomination.

Some of these events require tickets, and most are online. If something catches your eye, take to the internet for more details, including those about social distancing measures for in-person events.

Divining Helios @ S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Student Research Day @ Evered Hall, 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Yoga 4 Self Care @ CEP, A2106, 12:05 - 12:50 p.m. Zumba @ Abbotsford, E150, 12:05 - 12:45 p.m. Total Fitt @ Abbotsford, E150, 1:10 - 1:50 p.m. UFV SUS Public Board Meeting @ Online, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Drop in Basketball @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. The Workshop: Sex Ed @ Abbotsford, A264, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Remembering the Coqualeetza Occupation @ CEP A1457, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. UCM Thursday Gathering @ Abbotsford, A402, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Performance: Santana @ Abbotsford Centre, 8:00 p.m.

Abbotsford, D105, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. Drop in Soccer @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Nietzche Reading Group @ Online, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Abbotsford, D105, 7:00 - 9:30

Exhibition Tour @ The Reach Gallery, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Abbotsford, D105, 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. Abbotsford Canucks vs. Laval Rocket @ Abbotsford Centre, 7:00 p.m.

Abbotsford Canucks vs. Laval Rocket @ Abbotsford Centre, 4:00 p.m. Fraser Valley Symphony @ Matsqui Centennial Auditorium, 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Divining Helios @ S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Yoga 4 Self Care @ Abbotsford E105, 12:05 - 12:45 p.m. Drop in Badminton @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Drop in Goal Ball @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Drop in Basketball @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 9:00 - 10:00 p.m.

Divining Helios @ S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Yoga 4 Self Care @ Abbotsford E105, 12:05 - 12:45 p.m. Strength & Conditioning @ Abbotsford E100, 11:25 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. Drop in Spikeball @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Total Fitt @ Abbotsford E150, 1:10 - 1:50 p.m.

Divining Helios @ S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Yoga 4 Self Care @ Abbotsford E150, 12:05 - 12:45 p.m. Drop in Badminton @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Student Psychology Association Weekly Meeting @ Abbotsford, D122, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Drop in Pickleball @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Agriculture Technology Open House @ Agriculture Centre of Excellence, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Celtic Illusion @ Abbotsford Centre, 7:30 p.m. Circle K Weekly Meeting @ Abbotsford, A233, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Drop in Badminton @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 8:30 - 10:00 p.m.

Yoga 4 Self Care @ CEP A2106, 9:00 - 9:40 a.m. Divining Helios @ S’eliyemetaxwtexw Art Gallery, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. Zumba @ Abbotsford E150, 12:05 - 12:45 p.m. Yoga 4 Self Care @ CEP A2106, 12:05 - 12:50 p.m. Total Fitt @ Abbotsford E150, 1:10 - 1:50 p.m. Drop in Basketball @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. UCM Thursday Gathering @ Abbotsford, A402, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Drop in Soccer @ Abbotsford, North Gym, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Nietzche Reading Group @ Online, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Abbotsford Canucks vs. San Diego Gulls @ Abbotsford Centre, 7:00 p.m. Theatre Student Info Session @ Online, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Abbotsford Canucks vs. San Diego Gulls @ Abbotsford Centre, 7:00 p.m