The ABCs Of Book Banning, one of the short features up for Best Documentary Short Film at the Oscars, is available for free on YouTube starting February 23. The short can be found on the Paramount Plus YouTube channel. 

The ABCs Of Book Banning is up against The Barber Of Little Rock, Island In Between, The Last Repair Shop, and Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó for Best Documentary Short Film at the Oscars.

The documentary short, directed by Sheila Nevins, addresses the issue of banning books across the United States. Books that explore themes of  LGBTQ+, feminism, and the history of Black culture are becoming more and more commonly banned in schools. 

Nevins currently sits at MTV Documentary Films as the executive producer, although she is resigning her post in March. This film marks her directorial debut.

Nevins was inspired by 100-year-old Grace Linn, who appeared on MSNBC for her protest of book banning. Nevins told Variety that, “this 100 year-old woman was trying to change the world and there I was complaining about the fact that life is so tough. I thought why don’t I do something? It’s about to be an election year and I have to make some contribution and not let the world fall apart.”

The nominated short marks the first time that Nevins has helmed a project of her own, directing the feature with Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi. Despite it being her first time in the director seat, Nevins is no stranger to working closely on documentaries, serving as the head of HBO Documentary Films just shy of 40 years. 

The 96th Academy Awards will be held on March 10th.