POV‘s 24th season on PBS continues on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, with POV Short Cuts, a one-hour collection of documentary shorts by established and emerging filmmakers.

Watch a free, exclusive sneak preview of POV Short Cuts now on the PBS mobile app for iPhone or iPad or watch them on PBS this Tuesday evening. Check your local listings.

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Big Birding Day — David Wilson offers a glimpse into the world of competitive birdwatching, as three friends attempt to see as many species as possible in 24 hours.

Flawed — Artist/filmmaker Andrea Dorfman’s drawings burst colorfully into life as she animates the story of her long-distance relationship with a man whose profession — plastic surgery — gives her plenty of fodder.

StoryCorps Shorts — StoryCorps brings its Peabody Award-winning storytelling to POV for a second season. POV’s animated shorts use original recordings that have become beloved NPR “driveway moments.” Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

  • Miss Devine — Cousins James Ransom and Cherie Johnson recall their inimitable Sunday school teacher, Miss Lizzie Devine. This animation, set in the small Florida town of the cousins’ memories, will have you laughing as the cousins remember the fearsome Miss Devine.
  • No More Questions!— Strong-willed grandmother Kay Wang allowed her son and granddaughter to drag her into a StoryCorps booth. Though Kay was reluctant, she had stories to tell — from disobeying her mother and rebuffing suitors while growing up in China to late-life adventures as a detective for Bloomingdale’s department store.

Six Weeks — Six weeks is the period in which parents of newborn babies in Poland may decide to give up a child for adoption. Marcin Janos Krawczyk looks at one child’s fate through the eyes of the mother who must make her irreversible decision and the joyful parents who adopt her baby.

Tiffany— Beverly Morris tells of her ongoing struggle to hold on to the most contested object in her divorce — the Tiffany lamp, in this animated short.

After watching the films, visit the POV Short Cuts companion site to learn more about the films and the filmmakers behind them.

POV’s 24th season continues Tuesday nights through September 27, concluding with a special broadcast on November 10. Keep up with the films at http://pbs.org/pov, on Twitter @povdocs or onFacebook.

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Alva French
Alva French is a freelance multimedia journalist and was a POV Digital intern in Summer 2011. She has been blogging on French and Francophone music, politics and culture since 2007 and is an aspiring documentary filmmaker. Alva is currently an M.A. candidate in International Reporting at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.