Say what you will about the Oscars — the politics, the obsession with celebrity, and so on — but one of the things I like about them is how they can shed a light on films that normally wouldn’t get a lot of attention.
Case in point: the short-film categories. Five animated films, five documentaries and five dramatic films are nominated in those categories every year, and over the past decade, thanks to ShortsHD, these films have been made available to the public via streaming online and screenings at theatres around the continent.
This year’s nominees will start making the rounds on January 30, three weeks before the winners are announced February 22 — and you can watch trailers for all of ’em below the jump.
First, the dramatic live-action shorts:
Aya, Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, directors (Chasis Films):
Boogaloo and Graham, Michael Lennox, director, and Ronan Blaney, writer (Out of Orbit):
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak), Hu Wei, director, and Julien Feret, producer (AMA Productions):
http://vimeo.com/77272938
Parvaneh, Talkhon Hamzavi, director, and Stefan Eichenberger, producer (Zurich University of Arts):
The Phone Call, Mat Kirkby, director, and James Lucas, writer (RSA Films):
You can also watch a clip from The Phone Call at IndieWIRE.
Second, the documentary shorts:
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1, Perry Films:
Joanna, Wajda Studio:
Our Curse, Warsaw Film School:
The Reaper (La Parka), Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica:
White Earth, Weary Traveler
And last but certainly not least, the animated films:
The Bigger Picture. Daisy Jacobs, director, and Christopher Hees, producer (National Film and Television School):
The Dam Keeper. Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, directors (Tonko House):
Feast. Patrick Osborne, director, and Kristina Reed, producer (Walt Disney Animation Studios):
Me and My Moulton. Torill Kove, director (Mikrofilm in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada):
A Single Life. Joris Oprins, director (Job, Joris & Marieke):
Cartoon Brew notes that all five nominees come to only 50 minutes or so combined, so it’s quite possible that ShortsHD will pad out the program by including some of the other shortlisted films that weren’t nominated. This group includes:
Coda, Alan Holly, director (And Maps And Plans):
Duet, Glen Keane, director (Glen Keane Productions & ATAP):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qnQqXr838E
Footprints, Bill Plympton, director (Bill Plympton Studio):
The Numberlys, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, directors (Moonbot Studios):
Symphony No. 42, Réka Bucsi, director (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest):
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