So it's time to roll out the red carpet again and celebrate this year's Oscar nominated films - no not the feature films we have pretty much been celebrating all year long, but the other ones...the really small gems. This Saturday, February 19 and next Saturday, February 26 we welcome back the Oscar nominated shorts - both Live Action and Animated.
As said best by our heroes at THE Alamo Drafthouse Cinema...."Just because they're short doesn't make them any less entertaining, important or meaningful. In fact, one could argue that the short film format actually makes the art of filmmaking a greater challenge, considering the microscopic budgets and the narrative limitations of time. James Cameron had 300 million dollars and 10 years to make AVATAR - these wee gems of the cinema are labors of love, not box office returns. Join us for the rare opportunity to watch the best short films of 2010 the way they were meant to be seen, on the BIG screen!"
So here is the schedule and a brief synopsis of the films:
LIVE ACTION SHORTS - 2/19 and 2/26 at 10:00am (yes, two screenings only!!)
THE CONFESSION; United Kingdom; Oscar Nominee: Tanel Toom. Quiet and sincere, 9-year-old Sam is worried about making his first confession at church. As his conscience is clear, he therefore cannot hope for any relief from the experience. He and his friend Jacob decide to remedy that situation, but their initially innocent prank turns unexpectedly tragic. (26 min.)
THE CRUSH; Ireland; Oscar Nominee: Michael Creagh. An 8-year-old schoolboy is so besotted with his teacher that he challenges her boyfriend to a duel to the death. (15 min.)
GOD OF LOVE; USA; Oscar Nominee: Luke Matheny. Lounge-singing darts champion Raymond Goodfellow finds his prayers are answered -- literally -- when he receives a mysterious package of passion-inducing darts. The catch is that the one woman he loves -- Kelly, a drummer in his band -- is already in love with Ray's best friend Fozzie, the guitarist in the band. But when Ray uses the darts in a loony scheme to resolve this strange romantic triangle, he learns a surprising lesson about unrequited love and discovers his own place in the universe. Romance is in the air in this bohemian charmer. (18 min.)
NA WEWE; Belgium; Oscar Nominee: Ivan Goldschmidt. 1994: There is civil war in Burundi, a small country of Central Africa directly bordering Rwanda. A near genocidal confrontation opposes rebels mainly composed of ethnic Hutus and a national army with a majority of Tutsis. This short film relates a sadly frequent episode of this fratricidal conflict: the attack by rebels of a minivan carrying ordinary citizens. A Kalashnikov bursts out. The bus stops, the passengers get off. An order is barked: "Hutus to the left, Tutsis to the right!" The sorting out begins. But who is a Hutu, who is a Tutsi? This story is entirely based on real people and situations. It was written by a person who has lived in the beauty of Burundi and suffered its horrors. With emotion, suspense and humor it exposes the absurdity of ethnic and racial strife. "NA WEWE" (pronounce "Na wayway") means "You too" in Kirundi. (19 min.)
WISH 143; United Kingdom; Oscar Nominees: Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite. A fifteen-year-old boy with only months to live is granted one wish from the Dreamscape Charity. But David doesn't want to go to Disneyland or meet Gary Neville; what he really wants is an hour alone with a naked woman. (24 min.)
ANIMATED SHORTS - 2/19 and 2/26 at 10:15am and 12:15pm (yes, 4 screenings only!!!) So grab breakfast on the way and bring your kids!
DAY & NIGHT; USA; Oscar Nominee: Teddy Newton. When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities - and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world - the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective. (6 min.)
THE GRUFFALO; United Kingdom & Germany; Oscar Nominees: Max Lang and Jakob Schuh. The magical tale of a mouse who takes a walk through the woods in search of a nut. Encountering three predators who all wish to eat him - a fox, an owl and a snake - the plucky mouse has to use his wits to survive, creating an imaginary monster who then turns out to be all too real. The voice cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, James Corden, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt, Rob Brydon and Robbie Coltrane. (27 min.)
LET'S POLLUTE; USA; Oscar Nominee: Geefwee Boedoe. In the spirit of 50's & 60's educational films, 'Let's Pollute' is a modern satire on how pollution is our heritage and keeps our economy growing strong, while instructing us how to be better polluters for a better blighted tomorrow. (6 min.)
THE LOST THING; Australia & United Kingdom; Oscar Nominees: Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan. A boy discovers a bizarre looking creature while out collecting bottle tops at the beach. Realising it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but is met with indifference from everyone else, who barely notice its presence, each unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to their day to day lives. For reasons he does not explain, the boy empathizes with the creature, and sets out to find a 'place' for it. (15 min.)
MADAGASCAR, CARNET DE VOYAGE (MADAGASCAR, A JOURNEY DIARY); France; Oscar Nominee: Bastien Dubois. A visual travel journal demonstrating the importance of dance, death, and traditional customs present and vibrant in the Malagasy society. (11 min.)
Additional films in the theatrical program (Not among the nominated)
URS (Moritz Mayerhofer, 10 min.)
THE COW THAT WANTED TO BE A HAMBURGER (Bill Plympton, 6 min.)
For all you parents out there here is a link to the official website and trailers for each of the animated films to find out whether they are appropriate for your child (the shorts are not "officially" rated). According to the official facebook page, the Animated films are deemed KID FRIENDLY while the Live Action are not!
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