Two films considered for awards in documentary short subjects

Saw two short documentary films under Oscar consideration, first Stay Close, which made the long list but did not receive a nomination - a film about a young man from Brooklyn, Keeth Smart, who overcame astonishing hardships and heartbreaks on his way to participation in fencing at the 2006 Beijing Olympics. The story is sad yet inspiring, though not especially groundbreaking as a documentary short - relying far too heavily on archival footage and family "home movies" with lots of voice-over narration and some animation as well, making the movie feel too choppy; some footage from Smart's post-Olympic life would have been good, though. The other film, one of 5 Oscar nominees in this category, Walk Run Cha Cha Cha, depicts a community in Socal of refugees from Vietnam, in particular a couple who fled separately - he came first with his girlfriend to follow 6 years later; the people in the community have bonded over ballroom dancing, and in particular the central couple take intensive lessons and participate in amateur competitions - and they're really good. The nicest sequence in the film, I think, shows a large group of members of this community gathered over dinner and chatting about one another and about their love for popular music and dance - all in
English, which of course was the 2nd (at least) language for all of them. All told, it's a warm and inspiring film, although it probably does not have enough of an edge, a conflict, a POV strong enough to win the Academy Award.