Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2015

Every year, around the time the Oscar nominations come out, we get an onslaught of people at the Midtown Cinema asking if we will be showing the short films. I love seeing our patrons' faces light up when we tell them we will. Of all the events that our patrons come to expect, I am proud to say that the Oscar-nominated shorts are some of the most fiercely demanded.

Why am I so proud? It's simple. When you see a short film, you must realize two things: first, though it may only be twenty or thirty or even just a few minutes, a short film can still pack a punch with its story and the message it has to share. It's a different kind of art, one which is not better or worse than feature-length filmmaking (though unfortunately some may argue differently). And second, perhaps these filmmakers who have managed to get their films held to such a high standard will continue to create films of the same quality. It's like a sneak peak into future filmmaking: every great filmmaker got their start somewhere, and 9 times out of 10 it was with a collection of short films which helped to mold their personal style and technique.

And so we find ourselves in 2015, showing the Oscar-nominated shorts yet again. The selection this year is just as delightful as the last batch. The Live Action category gives us a glimpse into a variety of cultures, starting off with the quiet but powerful coming-of-age story of PARVANEH, then continuing with a seemingly aimless but elegantly concluded BUTTER LAMP, the heartbreaking tale of a helpline worker and her caller in THE PHONE CALL, and an adorable account of two boys and their pets in BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM. But the film that steals the show in this category is AYA, a refreshing and honest story of a girl and her magneticism toward strangers.

The Animated Shorts category also offers a fair variety in its content: Disney strikes again with its adorable and touching FEAST, summarizing the relationship between a dog, its owner, and food; ME AND MY MOULTON, while lacking in oomph for content, is a stylistically beautiful film about three sisters under their out-of-the-ordinary parents' care; A SINGLE LIFE is a quick but hilarious flash through someone's life, and THE DAM KEEPER warms your heart with the tale of an unexpected friendship. THE BIGGER PICTURE is my favorite in this category: creatively made via stop-motion animation, it tells the tale of  two brothers who fight over the responsibilities involved with caring for their elderly mother. Its serious nature, however, may prevent it from cultivating too many votes-- to put it bluntly, many are still only interested in animation as fun -- it's the "escape" of the short film categories. But perhaps I'll be proven wrong.

And finally, we come to the documentaries. This was a solemn year for subjects: in another short focused on helplines, CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1 is very straightforward in its presentation, but the content is compelling enough to carry it. WHITE EARTH, told mainly from children's points of view, details the lives of families who give up everything to make a living off of the oil fields. THE REAPER, shot like a horror film, reveals disturbing images from slaughterhouses -- definitely not for the faint of heart. JOANNA is a heartbreaking and thoughtful record of a woman with cancer, beautifully shot as a love letter to her son, and OUR CURSE shows the struggle of new parents as they deal with the news that their son has a rare, incurable disease. These last two, in my humble opinion, tie for the best of this category, due to the intimacy the audience feels with the subjects of the films.

 

There are a lot of choices to sift through for this year's competition, but no matter what the outcome, the experience of watching them all will be worth it. As usual, stuff a couple of tissues in your pocket for the sad ones -- there's bound to be at least one story that will tug at your heartstrings.  The Oscar-nominated  shorts are now playing at the Midtown Cinema!