Continuing their annual tradition of the past 10 years,
Shorts HD has partnered with Magnolia Pictures to bring each of the
Oscar-nominated short films to theaters around the country. And once again, The
Little Theatre is one of the select venues to screen the programs. It’s great
that these films get to be seen by a wider audience; allowing them the
attention they truly deserve.
As has
become the norm, the three shorts categories have been split into four programs
(the documentary shorts tend to be the longest of the bunch, and thus get split
into two separate screenings). Thanks to the Oscar Nominated Shorts Program, cinephiles and Oscar completists
will have the opportunity to view all the nominated films before the ballots
are opened on February 22.
Documentary Program A
A film of startling intimacy, the elegiac “Joanna” follows a mother diagnosed with terminal cancer, and
focuses mostly on her conversations with her precocious 5-year-old son.
Miraculously, the film manages to avoid feeling unbearably depressing, ending
on a note of bleary-eyed optimism.
The
sometimes harrowing “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
spotlights the critical work being done by the counselors at the Veterans
Crisis Line in Canandaigua, New York, as they attempt to provide support to
veterans contemplating suicide.
Documentary Program B
In the heartrendingly empathetic “Our
Curse,” director Tomasz Sliwinski
documents his and his wife’s struggles caring for their infant son, who has a
rare, and potentially fatal, breathing disorder.
Christian
Jenson’s “White Earth” has a “Days of Heaven”
vibe to it, chronicling life through the eyes of three children whose fathers
work in the oil fields of North Dakota.
In Gabriel
Serra Arguello’s”The
Reaper (La Parka),” a worker at a Mexican slaughterhouse speaks
about dealing with the moral and ethical anguish of his job. The artfully shot,
but frequently stomach churning images make it a difficult (but at times
beautiful) watch.
Live-Action Program
“Parvaneh”
follows a young Afghan woman who enlists the aid of a rebellious teenager to
help her send money to her ailing father back home, and the two young women
strike up a quietly affecting friendship.
The most
lighthearted of this program’s lineup, “Boogaloo and Graham,” tells the sweet story
of two brothers in Northern Ireland whose father gives them each a baby chick
to care for.
In “Aya,” a young woman assumes the
identity of an airport driver and finds herself driving a professor of music to
a recital in Jerusalem. Excellent performances from the two leads make the film
utterly captivating.
“The Phone Call” portrays an emotionally distressing
conversation between a crisis center operator (played by Sally Hawkins) and a
suicidal caller (voiced by Jim Broadbent).
Documentary
and fiction blur to interesting effect in “Butter
Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak),” as a
Tibetan photographer interacts with his various subjects in front of an
ever-changing photo backdrop.
Animated Program
Through delightful hand-drawn animation, “Me and My Moulton” details the semi-autobiographical
story of writer-director TorillKove
and her two sisters growing up in Norway with modernist architect parents. The
film is like a children’s picture book by way of IKEA.
If you
caught Disney’s feature “Big Hero Six” in theaters, you likely caught the
adorable “Feast” which tracks several years in
a dog’s relationship with his owner through the food he’s given.
“The Bigger Picture” utilizes a fascinating technique,
marrying textured painting with stop-motion animation to tell a somber tale of
two brothers who can’t help but quarrel as they care for their dying mother.
In the droll
“A Single Life,” a woman discovers a
record that gives her the ability to skip forward and backward in the timeline
of her life.
Directed by
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, “The Dam Keeper” is an allegorical fable about a young
misfit pig who runs a dam that prevents pollution from overtaking his village.
Possibly my favorite of the bunch, the film is gorgeously animated and
surprisingly emotional.
As with previous years, the animation
program is supplemented with extra “highly commended” shorts:
“Sweet Cocoon” weaves a silly little story about a rotund
caterpillar’s fraught attempts to begin her metamorphosis.
In “Footprints,” from animator Bill Plympton,
a man goes on the hunt for a destructive beast.
Glen Keane’s
lovely “Duet” depicts a romance between a
boy and a girl that follows them from childhood to adulthood.
Finally, “Bus Story” tells a charming tale of the narrator’s
misadventures after she achieves her dream of becoming a school bus driver.
This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2015.
