Article by Marcus Siu
A “must see” for those who regularly participate in Oscar contests, the Oscar Nominated shorts are no longer difficult to find as compared to just a few years ago. It used to be a haul to drive to one of the theaters that played them back in the day, but now you can probably find a theater within a reasonable distance. They are not just shown exclusively in North America, but also in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, India, South Africa, Mexico, Chile, China, and Australia, among others, making it a truly international release.
Already on its second weekend, the 2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films is a terrific selection of films ranging to many issues and topics, and all are worthy of their recognition with the Academy.
Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Live Action, Animation, or Documentary. As usual, the Live Action shorts and Animation shorts have always been much more popular than the documentary shorts, but there are certainly many more theaters showing them now compared to past years.
For those who prefer to stream and watch the short films at home, you can actually watch a few of these on YouTube, as many of the filmmakers opted for as much exposure for their film, as much as possible. You can easily Google many of the Live Action and Documentary shorts, and watch them in its entirety. Others are either streaming on premium platforms, or are available through pay per view for a nominal fee.
Netflix, as usual, has a few Live Action films nominated this year, such as “The After” starring David Oyelowo, and “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”, directed by Wes Anderson, so you can stream them, if you are a Netflix subscriber. However, if you are looking for the Oscar Nominated Animated short films, then you will have very little luck finding any of them, except for “Ninety-Five Senses”, which is streaming free on Documentary Plus.
However, I would strongly urge you to see these in the theaters. Nothing can beat the big screen when you have an exhilarating film, such as the Documentary Short film directed by Academy Award winning directors, Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers (“Queen of Basketball”). With its sumptuous cinematography, crisp sound and its compelling musical score and story, “The Last Repair Shop” deserves to be seen in the theater. It showcases why moviegoers need go to movie theaters instead of streaming at home in the first place.
https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/tickets
TRAILER
ANIMATION
LETTER TO A PIG ISRAEL/16 MINS/2022
Director: Tal Kantor
Producer: Amit R. Gicelter, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron
Synopsis: A Holocaust survivor reads a letter he wrote to the pig who saved his life. A young schoolgirl hears his testimony in class and sinks into a twisted dream where she confronts questions of identity, collective trauma, and the extremes of human nature.
NINETY-FIVE SENSES USA/13 MINS/2023
Director: Jerusha Hess & Jared Hess
Producer: Miles David Romney and Tori A. Baker
Synopsis: An ode to the body’s five senses delivered by a man with little time left to enjoy them.
OUR UNIFORM IRAN/7 MINS/2023
Director: Yegane Moghaddam
Producer: Jalil Moghaddam
Synopsis: An Iranian girl unfolds her school memories on the folds and fabrics of her old uniform.
PACHYDERME FRANCE/11 MINS/2021
Director: Stéphanie Clement
Producer: Thomas Giusiano, Mathieu Rey, Marc Rius, Reginald de Guillebon
Synopsis: As every summer, Louise is entrusted to her grand-parents for a few days of vacation in the country. The green grass of the garden, the swimming in the lake, the fishing with Grandpa, everything seems as sweet as Grandma’s strawberry pies. Yet this year, the snow will fall in summer and a monster will die.
WAR IS OVER! INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OFJOHN & YOKO USA/11 MINS/2023
Director: Dave Mullins
Producer: Brad Booker
Synopsis: Set in an alternate WWI reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates. Neither soldier knows his opponent as the game and the war builds to its climactic final move. Whoever wins the game, one thing is for certain: there are no winners in war.
LIVE ACTION
THE AFTER UK/18 MINS/2023
Director: Misan Harriman
Producer: Nicky Bentham, David Oyelowo
Cast: David Oyelowo, Jessica Plummer, Amelie Dokubo
Synopsis: THE AFTER is a powerful and affecting story that follows Dayo (Oyelowo), a Londoner who has to reconnect with himself and society after witnessing a devastating random attack in the capital.
INVINCIBLE CANADA/29 MINS/2022
Director: Vincent René-Lortie
Producer: Samuel Caron
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, INVINCIBLE recounts the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest for freedom.
KNIGHT OF FORTUNE (RIDDER LYKKE) DENMARK/25 MINS/2022
Director: Lasse Lyskjær Noer
Producer: Kim Magnusson, Christian Norlyk
Synopsis: The loss of a loved one, the grief, the risk of yellow skin, and a coffin, this is too much for Karl to face. It is much easier to fix a broken lamp. A chance encounter with a stranger will help him face his pain.
RED, WHITE AND BLUE USA/23 MINS/2023
Director: Nazrin Choudhury
Producer: Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane
Synopsis: Rachel (Brittany Snow) is a single parent living paycheck to paycheck. When an unexpected pregnancy threatens to unravel her already precarious position, she’s forced to cross state lines in search of an abortion. As Rachel contemplates the series of events that necessitated this journey and the obstacles placed in her path, we learn a heartbreaking truth that means her life will never be the same again.
THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR UK/37 MINS/2023
Director: Wes Anderson
Producer: Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, Richard Ayoade
Synopsis: A beloved Roald Dahl story about a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.
DOCUMENTARY
THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING USA/27 MINS/2023
Director: Sheila Nevins
Producer: Trish Adelsic
Synopsis: Over 2000 books have been removed from school districts in the U.S. THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING follows the human toll the future will pay for depriving children of their right to read and learn about a complex world. Interviews with children and authors shed light on this ongoing dangerous precedent.
THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK USA/35 MINS/2023
Director: John Hoffman & Christine Turner
Producer: Christina Avalos, John Hoffman, Christine Turner; Eps Dwyane Wade, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Jon Marcus
Synopsis: THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK explores America’s widening racial wealth gap through the story of Arlo Washington, a local barber whose visionary approach to a just economy can be found in the mission of People Trust, the nonprofit community bank he founded.
ISLAND IN BETWEEN TAIWAN/USA/19 MINS/2023
Director: S. Leo Chiang
Producer: Jean Tsien, Yorke Wu, Yulan Chang
Synopsis: From Taiwan’s frontline amid rising tensions with China, filmmaker S. Leo Chiang weaves lyrical glimpses of local life with his own struggle negotiating ambivalent bonds to Taiwan, China, and the USA. ISLAND IN BETWEEN explores the uneasy peace in Taiwan, and contemplates its uncertain future.
THE LAST REPAIR SHOP USA/39 MINS/2023
Director: Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers
Producer: Ben Proudfoot, Kris Bowers, Jeremy Lambert, Josh Rosenberg
Synopsis: Los Angeles is one of the last American cities to provide free and freely repaired musical instruments to its public schoolchildren. THE LAST REPAIR SHOP showcases the warehouse where devoted craftspeople keep over 80,000 instruments in good repair.
NǍI NAI & WÀI PÓ USA/16 MINS/2023
Director: Sean Wang
Producer: Sam Davis, Malcolm Pullinger
Synopsis: Nǎi Nai is my grandma. Wài Pó is also my grandma. Together, they are a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.
mlsentertainment 