The subjects covered in the films nominated for the 2013 documentary short Academy Award might make a moviegoer wilt at the prospect of compassion fatigue. Homeless teens, women with breast cancer, Rwandan children in dire need of heart surgery — in theory, this is an information overload of raw misery.

In practice, these five shorts are not only uncommonly good but inspiring in the best, toughest, most moving ways. They don’t sugarcoat their various situations but find small moments of triumph and continuance, and they remind us of all the human stories Hollywood refuses to tell us.