ShortDocs
Discover hundreds of short audio gems produced in response to a prompt from Third Coast for the ShortDocs Competition, hosted between 2003 and 2016. Each year ushered in a new set of rules, new creative partners, and ever-more magical results.

The Assassin's Bell
A young Soviet 'Pioneer' (i.e. boy scout) squares off with the CIA -- will he live to tell the tale?
- 2007
- 03:04
- Charles Maynes

An Orchestra of Bicycles
Richard Lerman reflects on Travelon Gamelon, a piece he wrote in 1970 for amplified bicycles.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Rene Gutel

Elizabeth's Mug
Elizabeth sits at her kitchen table, contemplating a recent coworker's gift and wrestling with the advice it gives her.
- 2007
- 02:57
- Dirk van der Duim

The Angel and the Mourning Cloak
Chance encounters on an April morning show it's the little things in life that can make all the difference.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Jim Barfuss

Little Voices, Far Far Away
Context is a bitch -- just ask mice. On earth they're seen as pests and carriers of disease, but space is another story altogether.
- 2007
- 03:03
- Anne Glickman
- Jennifer Brandel

Frenchie Movie
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main . . . any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." - John Donne (1572-1631)
- 2007
- 02:59
- Jeff Peters
- Tim Forrest

Feisty Mama
A daughter finds an old picture of her mother and sees her mother differently.
- 2007
- 02:44
- Melissa Canciller

How to Cheat on Your Wife
A short, poetic instruction manual for the man who wishes to philander or have an extra-marital affair, but doesn't know where to begin.
- 2007
- 02:57
- Elizabeth Bloom Albert

Buddhist Mice
Buddhist teachings and mouse death.
- 2007
- 02:53
- Karen Michel

Hot Lips
Hot Lips was my role model.
- 2007
- 02:58
- Yuko Kodama

Well Behaved Women
Janet gives new meaning to birthday gifts.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Juanona Brewster

Instant Coffee
A son remembers a woman who loved instant coffee and who may or may not have enjoyed being a housewife.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Dennis Conrow

Me and Mousetraps
I overcome my fears and manage to rid our home of a mouse.
- 2007
- 02:42
- David Daskal

Mugs With Messages
The thoughts of a creative woman of valor, who might never make history.
- 2007
- 03:37
- Suzy Kahn

The Wishing Bell
A brother and sister fight over the gifts they receive from their father.
- 2007
- 03:17
- Max Barry

Really Nice
Intrigue after the lease is up.
- 2007
- 03:01
- Laura Vitale

Stiff Peaks
2007 ShortDocs Winner! The first step in making cookies is to purchase a metal bike jingle-bell in a western mountain town.
- 2007
- 03:03
- Jeffrey Letterly

Chinese Pants
An unscripted talk between a mom and her almost teenaged daughter, inspired by a handmade Mother's Day card listing all the things a mother should never do.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Lucy Jan-Turan
- Ramona Jan

Miss Cholita Pageant
The "Miss Cholita" pageant celebrates a female ideal that is fast disappearing among Bolivian indigenous women. This year, the pageant was shaken by a scandal: the winner had turned out to have been wearing fake braids.
- 2007
- 02:55
- Ruxandra Guidi

A Time to Tip
The courageous story of one coffee mug trying to get by in a house of people he hates. (Writing from the perspective of the mug in the first person, present tense.)
- 2007
- 02:58
- David Hain

The Irresistible Draw of the Dollar Store
A dollar store addict is confronted with a horrifying discovery among the aisles.
- 2007
- 02:38
- Kevin Theis

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Mousetrap
Both brief reflection on mousetraps and a nod to Wallace Stevens.
- 2007
- 02:35
- Ezekiel Weaver

Latin Mass
Long before the women's movement even had a name, some Oak Park girls began questioning tradition without even knowing they were doing so.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Chris Angelos

Mini-Meta-Mouse-umentary
Mousetraps and other intersections between human beings and mice.
- 2007
- 03:00
- Sue Mell

I Thought I'd Be Rewarded for My Dating Gumption
You think you're being mature and courageous, trait which will surely be rewarded with reciprocal sentiments of love...right?
- 2007
- 03:00
- Saya April Hillman