Decatur Short Docs Festival

03/05/2024

Thanks to Holyn Thigpen and ARTSATL.org for the article about our indie (aka no-profit) filmmaking and focus on stories about the arts, environment and social justice in Georgia. As the article points out, it’s a small team effort with producer/cinematographer/colorist Joe Nicholas Boris, photographer/musician/editor Henry Jacobs, and producer Alicia Macbeth Jacobs, with the help of sound designer Dan Marshall and local indie musicians. Plus the backing of friends and supporters in our Greater Decatur community.

Hal Jacobs' career in creating documentaries has covered the good, bad and ugly of Atlanta's story for decades

05/01/2024

Next Friday (Jan. 12, 7 p.m.) at Waller's is our benefit screening of our new short documentary about a 1964 Klan bombing in Jacksonville, Fla. The film officially premieres next month in Jacksonville for the 60th anniversary of the event. We're raising funds to help with travel/hotel for Iona Godfrey King. She was a 24-year-old single mother and domestic employee at the time of the bombing who attended college for 10 years before accepting a position as an elementary education instructor at a junior college).

Come watch our new short doc "Just Another Bombing?" and help raise travel/hotel funds so the woman profiled can attend the Florida premiere

15/05/2023

Thanks to everyone who attended the Friday night Decatur Docs screening!

We've received some good feedback about the films and some of the questions raised...

— Just how natural are those natural landscapes in the South?

— Will commercial interests win out over a highly sensitive Okefenokee ecosystem?

— What’s up with those RV folks hanging out by the Columbus, Ga., rapids?

— Who are those young bicyclists popping wheelies on the Beltline?

— How does an 83-year-old former optometrist manage to hike the entire Appalachian Trail (starting at Flagg Mtn. in Alabama)?

— And why are those people dancing on top of a 6-foot-tall plywood birthday cake — or for that matter erecting a 19-foot-high mobelisk in a former cotton mill?

You’ll find links to the films here — https://decaturshortdocs.com/ — and later this summer we'll let you know about a fall lineup of short docs.

Audience Favorite Award

So we asked audience members to rank their top 3 favorite films in order.

And the winner is…

Okay… The results were so close it could’ve come down to a hanging chad.

So we’ve basically got a 3-way tie:

The Last Last Hike
Young Kings
Okefenokee Destiny

Each filmmaker will receive $75 for either their cause or next film project or just to support their lavish indie documentarian lifestyle.

By The Numbers

Tickets Sold: 56
Net Sales: $503
Door/Donations: $120
Rental Fee: $200
Contribution to filmmakers: $225
Contribution to upcoming HJacobsCreative film projects: $198

Contribution Links (If you would like to further support film projects and screenings)

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/HJacobsCreative

https://account.venmo.com/u/HJacobsCreative

Please let us know if you have questions or suggestions.

photo courtesy of Jeanne Flint

11/05/2023

Waller's Coffee Shop "concession stand" for tomorrow night's screening (Friday, May 12, 7 pm) of our handpicked southern indie short docs (Decatur Short Docs Festival). Full menu with beer and wine. https://decaturshortdocs.com/

09/05/2023

Tickets still remaining for the Waller's Coffee Shop screening on Friday night (May 12) 7 p.m. Our handpicked short documentaries in conversation with each other, in conversation with you, about southern environments and people. https://decaturshortdocs.com/

05/05/2023

We appreciate SaportaReport's John Ruch for sharing the news of our one-night-only southern short docs screening next Friday (May 12) at Waller's Coffee Shop. Tickets still available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/600805494407

02/05/2023

What's a remake of a lost 1963 Andy Warhol short film got to do with a southern short docs festival you ask? Find your way over to Waller's Coffee Shop on Friday, May 12th, for the answer to that and plenty other questions you never thought to ask. (Six short films curated by HJacobsCreative -- RSVP $12.51) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southern-indie-short-docs-spring-2023-festival-tickets-600805494407

08/03/2023

Save the Date... Friday, May 12, 2023... A lineup of 5-7 short documentaries that highlight art, environment, justice and fun stuff in the South (curated by HJacobsCreative)... And a new venue at Waller's in Decatur. $10 tickets available online soon.

13/05/2022

New Orleans’ fight over monuments and America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause is examined in the 2021 documentary "The Neutral Ground" that will be held 3 p.m., Sunday, May 22, 2022, at the Plaza Theater.

All proceeds will go to Art for the People, a program of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights, a Black-led grassroots community organization based in Decatur. Art for the People erects public art to promote an alternative narrative to symbols of white supremacy such as the ones Beacon Hill led the way in removing in Decatur.

This event will begin with performances by an African drumming group and spoken word artist Amani Saleem. After the film (82 min.) will be a Q&A session with director CJ Hunt (comedian and former Daily Show producer) and producer Darcy McKinnon, moderated by Fonta High, Co-Chair of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights.

Trailer: https://www.pbs.org/pov/watch/neutralground/
Tickets: http://plazaatlanta.com/

04/05/2022

Thanks to everyone who attended and participated in our Decatur Docs screenings! We’ve posted links to films and trailers on the homepage at https://decaturshortdocs.com/. If you come across any short southern documentaries that we might be interested in for the next screening, please let us know.

We’ve also included here the music video ("Orphan Girl", written by Gillian Welch) that went missing from Sunday’s screening. It features Janine Solursh and Bill Taft of Common Good Atlanta with Billy Fields and Will Fratesi.

03/05/2022

Join us for one more night of ***free*** short films in Decatur (Tuesday, May 3, 7 p.m.) where you'll meet people talking about art and the environment: artist Michael Murrell ("Catawampus"), environmental historian Will Bryan ("Proctor Creek"), urban planner/artist Hannah Palmer ("Flint"), and Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area members. We'll have a talkback with many of the people involved in the films. https://decaturshortdocs.com/

02/05/2022

Our feature presentation this eve (Monday 7 p.m., 5/2, at Decatur First Baptist)... "Meltdown in Dixie." What can go wrong when you buy a quaint little ice cream shoppe in a small southern town? Well... everything. In the words of Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It's not even past.”

Two other short films round out the evening: A look at the work of artist/luthier Freeman Vines, who understands the language of trees ("Hanging Tree Guitars"); and an exploration of boiling-over tensions in a small North Carolina town ("Sound of Judgement").

The talkback will feature organizers from Decatur's Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights.

Free RSVP here: https://decaturshortdocs.com/

29/04/2022

Dinner and a Movie in Decatur?

Decatur Short Docs invites you to free screenings in the heart of Decatur on May 1-3, Sunday through Tuesday (7-9 p.m.).

(You’re on your own for dinner.)

Free screenings (see RSVP link below) that look at the diverse, complex South with compelling stories of its people, environment and social justice.

Sunday, May 1: The story behind Common Good Atlanta, which connects volunteer college faculty with incarcerated students. Put aside your expectations — this is an upbeat story about someone who wanted to teach one literature class inside a prison in 2008, leading 14 years later to hundreds of professors and students learning from each other [Breaking Down the Walls of Mass Incarceration]. Talkback with film director, organizers and alumni.

Monday, May 2: Communities around the South are dealing with complicated social justice issues in different ways. In Alamance County, N.C., a newfound activist is targeted, a die-hard Confederate loyalist radicalizes, and the sheriff won't back down [Sound of Judgement]. In Orangeburg, S.C., a struggle erupts between the Sons of Confederate Veterans and an ice cream shop owner forced to fly the Confederate flag in his parking lot [Meltdown in Dixie]. Talkback afterwards with organizers from Decatur’s Beacon Hill “Art for the People” project.

Tuesday, May 3: Art and the Environment. For five decades, sculptor Michael Murrell has made art that explores our human relationship with nature. He also keeps most of it so that it can be displayed to the public in a former cotton mill in the north Georgia foothills [Art, Nature and Catawampus].* Water and the environment is the subject of three short Atlanta-based films: environmental justice in the Proctor Creek watershed with environmental historian Will Bryan; a major waterway (Flint River) that surprisingly starts under the Atlanta airport [Finding the Flint]; and the intriguing cohort of Atlantans who came together in the early 1970s to save the banks of the Chattahoochee River from development [River Rats and Junior Leaguers]. Talkbacks with artist and organizers.

All screenings take place at Decatur First Baptist, 308 Clairemont Ave.

*Excellent recent article about Murrell here: https://sculpturemagazine.art/michael-murrell-a-life-lived-in-art/

MORE DETAILS: https://decaturshortdocs.com/

FREE RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/decatur-short-docs-film-festival-2022-268239

SPONSORS: HJacobsCreative, Georgia Center for the Book, First Baptist of Decatur, Decatur Arts Festival

The Decatur Short Docs Festival showcases short documentaries about people and places in our community and the South. We look for films with the heart, art and soul of this diverse region.

25/04/2022

Kicking off spring 2022 Decatur Short Docs with our (not-so-short) documentary on Common Good Atlanta (with talkback) on Sunday, May 1 at 7pm (see free rsvp: https://www.commongoodatldoc.com/). Some great short docs coming up on May 2 & 3. See more at https://decaturshortdocs.com/

11/04/2022

Free tickets are now available for the 7pm, Sunday, May 1 screening (and talk-back) of the Common Good Atlanta documentary at the First Baptist Church of Decatur... as well as tickets for some great short docs on May 2-3 at the church. Many thanks to our co-sponsors Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL and the Decatur Arts Festival.

The Decatur Short Docs Festival showcases short documentaries about people and places in our community and the South. We look for films with the heart, art and soul of this diverse region.

23/03/2022

We’re back… for now… and looking forward to our in-person screenings on May 2-3 at Decatur First Baptist Church and as part of the Decatur Arts Festival with our co-sponsor Georgia Center for the Book.

Below photo from "Meltdown in Dixie" (directed by Emily Harrold, 2021, 40 min.) In the wake of the 2015 Charleston Massacre, a battle erupts in Orangeburg, SC, between the Sons of Confederate Veterans and an ice cream shop owner forced to fly the Confederate flag in his parking lot. The film explores the broader role of Confederate symbolism in the 21st century and the lingering racial oppression which symbols such as this help maintain.

Please check out the schedule and let your friends/colleagues know: https://decaturshortdocs.com/

18/01/2022

03/01/2022

Wishing everyone a healthy new year! With the latest covid surge, the January short docs festival has been postponed until at least March.

27/12/2021

Three evenings of films related to arts and social justice, full-length & shorts, coming to the First Baptist Church of Decatur during 2022 Martin Luther King Jr. week. See the full lineup here and RSVP for individual nights (co-sponsored by Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL): https://decaturshortdocs.com/

13/05/2021

Wrapping up the film festival this evening with a 7 p.m. talkback with filmmakers of "Huntsville Station," "Renaissance Man," "Invisible Hands," "Walk, Run, Ride, and Live," and "6,000 Waiting."
https://decaturshortdocs.com/

12/05/2021

Starting at noon today, 5 short docs that offer unique viewpoints across the South: Mexican seasonal workers in rural South Carolina; the first Black, female cartoonist in "The New Yorker"; a former Army tank driver who discovers a passion for a Medieval Faire in Tenn.; an Atlantan photographer who adopts a healthy regimen and takes control over his health; and young drag queens in Savannah. Meanwhile, Tuesday films are still available for viewing. https://decaturshortdocs.com/

10/05/2021

Not too late to sign up for the free & virtual Decatur Short Docs Festival screenings that starts tomorrow (5/11) and ends with a talkback on Thursday (5/13).

On Tuesday we'll screen...

"Huntsville Station", (dir. Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone) a meditative look at the first moments of a major life transition for formerly incarcerated men.

and

"6,000 Waiting," (dir. Michael McDonald) which tells the stories of three Georgians with developmental disabilities whose lives are significantly impacted by the staggering lack and complexity of state Medicaid waiver funding.

Details and RSVP link here: https://decaturshortdocs.com/

04/05/2021

Let’s face it. One thing we all have in common is that we love a good story. Especially a good short one. Next week the Decatur Short Docs Festival kicks off with 7 filmmakers telling short southern stories that portray people and landscapes through unique lenses. Curated by Decatur filmmaker Hal Jacobs (“Lillian Smith: Breaking the Silence”), these nonfiction pieces were chosen especially for a community that values family, education, social justice, arts, environment, humor and soul. The two-day screening period (May 11-13) ends with a talkback with several of the filmmakers. Thanks to co-sponsors Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL and Georgia Humanities. Free RSVP here: https://decaturshortdocs.com/

28/04/2021

As Harper Lee (it's her birthday!) said: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." That's also the mantra of the Decatur Short Docs Festival. Sharing films with the Decatur community (free!) that feature southerners from all walks of life, considering things from their points of view. Hope you join us May 11-13 for the screenings & talkback with filmmakers. FREE RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/decatur-short-docs-festival-tickets-150199888911

12/04/2021

Hope you'll join us May 11-13, 2021, for a free virtual screening of southern short docs and talk-back with filmmakers. We've selected seven films that have lots of heart, featuring such diverse communities as Georgians with developmental disabilities ("6,000 Waiting"), inmates released from the Texas State Penitentiary waiting for a bus ride home ("Huntsville Station"), Mexican seasonal laborers in rural South Carolina ("Invisible Hands"), the first Black, female cartoonist in "The New Yorker" ("Between the Lines"), a new member of a Renaissance Fair ("Renaissance Man"), a middle-aged man who documents his efforts to live a more healthy life ("Walk, Run, Ride, and Live"), and young drag queens who perform in Savannah ("P***y Queens"). See rsvp link and details here:
https://decaturshortdocs.com/

25/03/2021

Coming Soon... Our spring 2021 festival will be held May 11-13. It's free and virtual, with a filmmakers' talkback. Will post a rsvp link next week (see https://decaturshortdocs.com/). Thanks to Georgia Center for the Book, Georgia Humanities and HJacobsCreative for co-sponsoring.