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Stanford
MFA in Documentary Film Department of Art & Art History Department of Art & Art History

A Selection of Recent Student Films

Stanford films have garnered more Student Academy Awards in the Documentary Category than any other college or university. Thesis films from the program have gone on to screen and win awards at major festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca. Student work is frequently featured on PBS, The New York Times OpDocs, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and Short of the Week.

Alpha Kings (2023)

dirs. Faye Tsakas, Enrique Pedraza Botero

Featured on The New Yorker. Read the story here: The “Alpha Kings” Practicing Financial Domination Online.
IFF Rotterdam, 2023
Kurzfilm Hamburg, Short Film Prize, 2023
Venice Film Week, Best Documentary Short Film Award, 2023

From a rented mansion in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, a group of young men sell a hyperbolic, alpha-male version of themselves on the internet.

The Game God(s) (2021)

dir. Adrian L. Burrell

Featured on The New Yorker. Read the story here: Shaking the Foundations of the American Dream
Winner - Best Short Documentary, BlackStar Film Festival 2022

In The Game God(S), Adrian L. Burrell pries open myths of modern Blackness and ties one of America’s greatest beliefs back to its greatest sin.

The Act of Coming Out (2022)

dir. Alexandra Stergiou

Featured on The New Yorker Documentary. Read the story here: What Exactly Does it Mean to Come Out?

A group of queer and trans actors in Los Angeles audition for the lead role in a film about the quintessential coming out experience. Drawing from their own personal journeys, they challenge the coming out trope and offer a poignant and truthful portrayal of a community often defined by this singular act.

Meantime (2022)

dir. Michael Workman

Winner - Best Short Film at Telluride Mountainfilm
Winner - Vimeo Staff Pick Award at Palm Springs ShortFest (Read Vimeo interview with Michael)

After Tim’s work-related stroke leads to troubling health complications, his son Michael returns home to Montana. As they spend the most time together since Michael’s childhood, they reckon with the past that haunts Tim.

The Gallery That Destroys All Shame (2021)

dirs. Jessie Zinn and Aurora Brachman

AFI Docs Grand Jury Prize Nominee 2021
Vimeo Staff Pick

One evening in L.A., a group gathers to learn how to take back the speculum.

Father and Gun (2021)

dir. Ted Griswold

Published by The New Yorker. Read the story here: The Masculinity Lessons of “Father and Gun”

Men teach their young sons to use firearms at an indoor shooting range and viewers are allowed to observe and ponder at what the boys are feeling as they take their first shots.

Club Quarantine (2020)

dir. Aurora Brachman

Featured on The New York Times OpDocs. Read the story here: Every Night in Quarantine, I Danced With Hundreds of Strangers

When the coronavirus shut down clubs around the world, the director found community in a queer dance party on Zoom.

The Clinic (2019)

dir. Elivia Shaw

Grand Jury Award - Documentary Short - AFI FEST 2019
BAFTA Student Awards Shortlist 2019
Featured on Short of the Week

Amidst a devastating opioid epidemic, a needle exchange and free clinic operates in the shadows of Fresno, California.

Share (2019)

dirs. Ellie Wen and Barna Szász

Featured on The Guardian. Read the story here: An Instagram celebrity at a crossroads in life

An 18-year old influencer attempts to reconcile his identity online with his identity in real life.

Calving Season / The Warming Shed (2018)

dir. Nathan Reich

Featured on The New York Times OpDocs. Read the story: Coming of Age on a Montana Cattle Ranch

A remote cattle ranching family struggles through calving season during the harsh Montana winter.

Crisanto Street (2017)

dir. Paloma Martinez

Featured on The Guardian. Read the story here: Childhood in a Silicon Valley mobile home

In the shadow of Silicon Valley, a hidden community thrives despite difficult circumstances. For one resident, eight-year-old Geovany Cesario, impending change is bittersweet.

A View From the Window (2017)

dirs. Azar Kafaei and Chris Filippone

Featured on The Atlantic Selects. Read the story: Through the Eyes of Deaf Children
Featured on Aeon Video. Read the story: What does school look and sound like when you and your classmates are deaf?
Vimeo Staff Pick - Best of the Month Honors

An immersive glimpse of a school day through the eyes of deaf children.

Unheard (2017)

dir. Erin Semine Kökdil

IDFA 2017
Hot Docs 2018

Amidst the depths of despair, a grieving mother finds her voice to challenge the forces of injustice and inspire hope.

The Sandman / Death Row Doctor (2016)

dir. Lauren Knapp

Featured on The New York Times OpDocs. Read the story here: Death Row Doctor
2019 Critics’ Choice Awards – Nominated for Best Short Documentary

A doctor walks the line of his own morality as he participates in lethal injections, while personally opposing capital punishment.

Hotel 22 (2015)

dir. Elizabeth Lo

2016 Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking Award, Cinema Eye Honors
2015 Sundance Film Festival
Broadcast on PBS and featured on The New York Times Op-Docs

Each night in Silicon Valley, a public bus transforms into an unofficial shelter for the homeless. Hotel 22 captures a single, dramatic night on the Line 22 route.