SHORT #11
OF 15
95TH ACADEMY AWARDS | 2023 OSCARS CHALLENGE
“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
MARCH 4, 2023
NETLFIX
DAY 40
OF 48
Best Documentary Short Film
Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
Martha Mitchell, the wife of John Mitchell, the United States Attorney General under President Richard Nixon, was a character. Her larger-than-life smile and boisterous attitude put a spotlight on her in any room in front of any camera, much to the chagrin of the shifty President. Martha was not afraid to speak her mind, and in the documentary short “The Martha Mitchell Effect,” the archival footage of her interviews shows that she knew something was going on behind Nixon’s closed doors.
What is probably the most famous example of gaslighting, where someone is made to feel wrong despite being correct, Martha would eventually have her suspicions about the President, particularly Watergate, proven right. The documentary short is great for showing off the spectacle that was Martha Mitchell but drops the ball slightly when it comes to speaking out about what the “Effect” is. It glosses over some more exciting facts and could have benefitted from being a more extended-form piece.
PREVIOUS NOMINATIONS
Anne Alvergue
| First-time nominee |
Beth Levison
| First-time nominee |
This documentary profiles the Cabinet wife who spoke out during Watergate — and the Nixon administration’s campaign to gaslight her into silence.
Directed by Anne Alvergue & Debra McClutchy
Netflix
June 17, 2022
40 minutes
ACCOLADES
Cinema Eye Honors Awards — Outstanding Nonfiction Short (Nominee)
Sundance Film Festival — Best Short Film (Nominee)
EXPERT PREDICTIONS
1. “The Elephant Whisperers”
2.“How Do You Measure a Year?”
3. “Stranger at the Gate”
4. “The Martha Mitchell Effect”
5. “Haulout”
PERSONAL PREDICTIONS
1. “The Elephant Whisperers”
2. “Haulout”
3. “Stranger at the Gate”
4. “The Martha Mitchell Effect”
5. “How Do You Measure a Year?”
