Op-Docs

Season 4

Op-Docs is The New York Times editorial department's award-winning section for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with wide creative latitude and a range of artistic styles, covering current affairs, contemporary life and historical subjects.

Where to Watch Season 4

46 Episodes

  • An African's Message for America
    E1
    An African's Message for AmericaThis short documentary profiles a Kenyan activist who asks American student volunteers: “Why do you want to help us? Help your own country.”
  • Charlie Hebdo, Before the Massacre
    E2
    Charlie Hebdo, Before the MassacreIn this short documentary filmed at Charlie Hebdo in 2006, cartoonists and editors design a satirical front page image of Muhammad.
  • The Black Panthers Revisted
    E3
    The Black Panthers RevistedThis short documentary explores what we can learn from the Black Panther party in confronting police violence 50 years later.
  • Midnight Three and Six
    E4
    Midnight Three and SixThis short documentary shows a mother’s efforts to manage her daughter’s daily struggle with a life-threatening condition: Type I diabetes.
  • Hotel 22
    E5
    Hotel 22In Silicon Valley, the region’s homeless use a 24-hour bus line as a shelter at night.
  • Melody
    E6
    MelodyIn this short documentary, students in a youth orchestra program in Chile pursue their love of music to escape poverty.
  • Our Curse
    E7
    Our Curse
  • Animated Life: Pangea
    E8
    Animated Life: PangeaThis animated documentary tells the story of polar explorer Alfred Wegener, the unlikely scientist behind continental drift theory.
  • Kaboom!
    E9
    Kaboom!This short documentary profiles a couple who spend their lives pursuing their passion for blowing things up.
  • Holocaust Survivor Band
    E10
    Holocaust Survivor BandThis short documentary profiles two elderly Holocaust survivors in Florida who recently formed their own klezmer band.
  • Umbrella Cam's View of Wintry New York
    E11
    Umbrella Cam's View of Wintry New YorkA camera mounted on an umbrella captures scenes of New Yorkers struggling through a late winter snow across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan.
  • A Call From Selma
    E12
    A Call From SelmaThis short documentary explores how the murder of a white minister in Selma, Ala., helped catalyze the civil rights movement.
  • A Conversation With My Black Son
    E13
    A Conversation With My Black SonIn this short documentary, parents reveal their struggles with telling their black sons that they may be targets of racial profiling by the police.
  • The Bull Rider
    E14
    The Bull RiderThis short documentary profiles the champion bull rider Gary Leffew, whose insights on rodeos apply far beyond the sport.
  • The Last Reel
    E15
    The Last ReelAs cinemas across the United States transition to digital projectors, this short documentary celebrates the beauty of traditional 35-millimeter film.
  • A Danger on the Rails
    E16
    A Danger on the RailsThis short documentary warns about the dangers posed by trains that transport explosive oil across North America.
  • A Sustainable Chef
    E17
    A Sustainable ChefThis short documentary explains why one world-class chef overhauled his menu to emphasize sustainable ingredients.
  • Rent-a-Foreigner in China
    E18
    Rent-a-Foreigner in ChinaIn this short documentary, housing developers in China hire ordinary foreigners to pose as celebrities, boosting flagging property sales.
  • A Conversation About Growing Up Black
    E19
    A Conversation About Growing Up BlackIn this short documentary, young black men explain the particular challenges they face growing up in America.
  • My Enemy, My Brother
    E20
    My Enemy, My BrotherIn this short documentary, two survivors of a brutal war in the Middle East meet again years later under astonishing circumstances.
  • Shot in the Name of Art
    E21
    Shot in the Name of ArtThis short documentary celebrates the late conceptual artist Chris Burden’s landmark work “Shoot,” in which a friend shot him in the arm.
  • Transgender, at War and in Love
    E22
    Transgender, at War and in LoveThis short documentary shares the challenges of a transgender military couple, who are banned from serving openly.
  • The Art of Dissent
    E23
    The Art of DissentLaura Poitras documents the dissidents Ai Weiwei and Jacob Appelbaum as they collaborate on an art project.
  • Who Sounds Gay?
    E24
    Who Sounds Gay?This short documentary explores the reasons that some men sound stereotypically gay, whether they are or not.
  • Elder: A Mormon Love Story
    E25
    Elder: A Mormon Love StoryThis short documentary tells the story of a gay Mormon’s love affair while he served on a mission in Italy.
  • A Conversation With White People on Race
    E26
    A Conversation With White People on RaceThis short documentary features interviews with white people on the challenges of talking about race.
  • A Ride Home From Prison
    E27
    A Ride Home From PrisonThis short Op-Doc documentary profiles a former prisoner who guides men released from life sentences in California through their first hours of freedom.
  • Sandorkraut: A Pickle Maker
    E28
    Sandorkraut: A Pickle MakerThis short documentary profiles the queer farmer and food writer Sandor Katz, whose work in culinary fermentation transformed his relationship with life and death.
  • Verbatim: The Ferguson Case
    E29
    Verbatim: The Ferguson CaseThis short video juxtaposes the reenacted testimony of two key witnesses in the shooting of the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, MO.
  • We Need Brain: Songify the G.O.P.Debate
    E30
    We Need Brain: Songify the G.O.P.DebateThe Gregory Brothers present a musical mash-up video of the first Republican presidential debate of 2016.
  • Climbing the Shark's Fin
    E31
    Climbing the Shark's FinThis short documentary chronicles the ordeal of three mountain climbers attempting one of the most elusive first ascents in the Himalayas.
  • Diving for Scallops
    E32
    Diving for ScallopsThis short documentary profiles a fisherman in Maine who practices a fading craft: diving for sea scallops on the ocean floor.
  • Separatist
    E33
    SeparatistIn this short documentary, a white separatist explains why he wanted to help transform a small North Dakota town into an all-white enclave.
  • My Silver Hair
    E34
    My Silver Hair In this short animation, a New Yorker explains why she wears her hair in its natural color.
  • Bible Belt Atheist
    E35
    Bible Belt AtheistIn this short documentary, a former Pentecostal preacher starts a secular congregation in the heart of the Bible Belt.
  • Stray Bullet
    E36
    Stray BulletThis short documentary follows a mother’s devotion after her 11-year-old daughter is struck by a stray bullet in New York City.
  • Lullaby
    E37
    LullabyIn this short documentary, young mothers in a homeless shelter write lullabies to bond with their babies.
  • Marathon
    E38
    MarathonAn Ecuadorian prep-chef explains how he’s become one of the fastest marathon runners in New York City.
  • Would Jesus Wear a Sidearm?
    E39
    Would Jesus Wear a Sidearm?In this short documentary, a prominent leader of the Christian right explains why he left the Republican Party over guns.
  • Vic Invades
    E40
    Vic Invades“UrbExers” are extreme explorers who infiltrate subways and skyscrapers for adventure—and the perfect photograph.
  • A Conversation with Police on Race
    E41
    A Conversation with Police on RaceIn this short documentary, former officers share their thoughts on policing and race in America.
  • A Conversation With Black Women on Race
    E42
    A Conversation With Black Women on RaceIn this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.
  • Animated Life: Mary Leakey
    E43
    Animated Life: Mary LeakeyThis short documentary remembers the paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey, who discovered footprints of human ancestors on the African savanna.
  • Verbatim: Follow the Chicken
    E44
    Verbatim: Follow the ChickenIn this dramatization of transcripts from a legal deposition, lawyers grapple with a plaintiff’s bizarre testimony about the destruction of his chicken’s pasture.
  • Animated Life: Coelacanth
    E45
    Animated Life: CoelacanthThis short video celebrates the discovery of the coelacanth, the fossil-like fish time left behind.
  • Verbatim: Expert Witness
    E46
    Verbatim: Expert WitnessIn this dramatization of transcripts from a legal deposition, a so-called “expert witness” fails to perform middle school math.

 

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