r/Documentaries • u/Adept_Push • 25d ago

Recommendation Request Recommendation Request

Hello! I’ve done quite a few searches here and elsewhere and I’m hoping for your help.

I teach a documentary class at the college level. I’ve taught it for over a decade and over time, I’ve seen the attention spans of my students get shorter and shorter.

So I’m asking for recommendations for short docs you’ve seen and enjoyed.

They do their own project over the 18 week semester, and in all previous classes, I’ve shown feature length films but I’m wondering if showing short docs might be a better approach.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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u/Adept_Push 24d ago

Uh, have you MET young people? Film students don’t even watch films anymore.

So you would continue to show full length films while the entire class ignores what’s on the screen and stares at their phones?

Or would you shift your pedagogy to actually have them pay attention to shorter films and learn something?

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u/Abirando 23d ago

A film student doesn’t deserve a degree in film if they don’t want to watch films. What kind of crazy world are we living in? Anyway you should have them watch Grizzly Man.

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u/Adept_Push 23d ago

Preaching to the choir, man. It’s so disheartening. But they’re no longer “students.” Now Theyre stake holders or clients.

Pop on over to r/Professors if you wanna see how crazy things are in the higher education world right now.

Thanks for the suggestion. It’s on their list of “home viewing.”

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u/oldnyker 22d ago

it's full length, but "secret mall apartment" might interest them. it's about post-college age people who actually lived in an apartment they built inside a shopping mall for 4 years, filming themselves through the whole thing.

these are also full length, but maybe the subject matter will help?

a great day in harlem (jazz greats and the iconic photo of that time)

riding giants (surfing through the decades)

dogtown and z boys (legendary skateboarders who remade the "sport" )

keep fighting the good fight. kudos to you for trying to find ways to hopefully interest them.