Jay Rosenblatt: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: HBO Documentary Films has acquired worldwide and television streaming rights to the Oscar-nominated short How Do You Measure a Year?, a film director Jay Rosenblatt shot over the course of 17 years with his daughter Ella. 

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic How long does a documentary need to be? Frederick Wiseman frequently goes long, and Oscar-winning “OJ: Made in America” ran nearly eight hours. Lately, with “Bill Russell: Legend” and “Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker,” streamers have embraced the so-called “two-part documentary” — a fancy term for what used to be called a miniseries. So, while there are no limits on how much longer docs can get, it’s refreshing to see a compelling subject covered in 40 minutes or less, and doubly rewarding to realize that four of the five packaged in ShortsTV’s “2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary” found audiences on their own merits, even without theatrical distribution.

HBO has acquired the Oscar-nominated documentary short “When We Were Bullies,” which will premiere on March 30.“When We Were Bullies” focuses on director Jay Rosenblatt (“Human Remains,” “Phantom Limb”), as he tries to track down people from his 5th grade class to interview them about a severe bullying incident that occurred at their school 50 years ago. Using a mix of archival footage, animation and modern day interviews, Rosenblatt both reconstructs the event and comes to terms with his own sense of shame about what occurred.“Everyone carries pain,” Rosenblatt narrates in the trailer for the short that HBO released. “Yet through that pain, I can see yours.”In addition to directing, Rosenblatt wrote, produced and edited “When We Were Bullies.” The short is one of five nominees in the best documentary short category at the 94th Academy Awards.

Andrew Barker Senior Features WriterThe documentary short competition has long been a prime stage for nonfiction talent, and thanks to the renewed interest of streamers and new platforms, the format is as lively as ever. This year’s nominees encompass a wide range of subjects, from female sports pioneers to homelessness, love in a warzone and childhood bullying.

The only Oscar-nominated documentary without a distributor has finally found a home.

Addie Morfoot ContributorHBO Documentary Films has acquired the rights to Academy Award-nominated documentary short “When We Were Bullies.” Directed by Jay Rosenblatt (“Phantom Limb,” “Human Remains”), the 36-minute short is a meditation of a Brooklyn schoolyard incident that occurred between the director and his fellow fifth grade classmates 50 years ago.“When We Were Bullies” was, until now, the only Oscar nominated short docu to not have a distributor. Fellow nominee “The Queen of Basketball” was distributed by New York Times Op-Doc while Netflix is behind three of the nominated short docus: “Audible,” “Lead Me Home” and “Three Songs for Bashir.”“When We Were Bullies” premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a jury prize.