In the last few days, I’ve watched 17 films. Those would be short films, but still…it’s a lot. As a fan of short films, I was fortunate enough to get to watch all the Oscar Nominated Shorts at local arthouse cinemas (Bryn Mawr Film Institute, The Colonial Theatre, Landmark Ritz Five, Philadelphia). I’m grateful to ShortsTV for producing the compilations and getting them released for a limited run in select theaters. Go to the website to see if the shorts programs are screening near you. I’ve included the links to watch my two favorite short films below.
ShortsTV has orchestrated the release of Oscar Nominated Shorts since 2006. It’s the world’s largest commercial release of short films. Run by Shorts International Ltd. based out of London, England, the company has a 24/7 streaming channel, an app (ShortsTV+), and produces its own original content as well. There’s even a scholarship for women in film being offered on its website.
If you don’t live somewhere near an arthouse cinema, you can stream most of the films online. I’m a strong advocate for watching films on the big screen but streaming the films does allow you to be selective and curate a better, or at least, less overwhelming viewing experience. The Live Action program runs 2 hours, 20 minutes and has four emotionally draining films in a selection of five films. There were audible gasps and tears, and a few people left the theater when I watched the program.
There are three programs of short films to reflect the three categories of the Academy Awards: Live Action, Animation, and Documentary. Each program features the five nominated films, and the Animation program adds two films from the “Short Listed” nomination pool to create a longer program. I was grateful for that fact because one of those two films was particularly unusual and strangely moving.
“Wild Summon” screened at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Short Film Palme d’Or. Combining live action and 3-D animation, the environmental film follows the spawning habits of the female wild salmon. Narrated by rock legend Marianne Faithful, the salmon are depicted as big-mouthed free divers. At first, the effect is jarring and the dying mother fish resembles an image from a horror film. The depiction of this one salmon struggling to stay alive to lay her eggs is told so dramatically and urgently, that I was breathless and awed by the salmon’s heroic struggle. Directed by the filmmaking duo Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, also known as ‘Karni & Saul’, you can stream “Wild Summon” on YouTube (14 minutes).
My favorite film of all the nominated short films is the beautifully shot “The Last Repair Shop”. Produced by Searchlight Pictures and LA Times Studios, Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot’s film is a lovely tribute to the individuals who work their magic at an instrument repair shop in Los Angeles. Featuring the remarkable stories of four artists who’ve made it their passion to keep student’s instruments–abused, broken, much-loved–repaired and restored. The editing is masterful as is the cinematography, intercutting the craftsmen at work and the students whose lives have been changed by music. The final concert performed by former students was composed by filmmaker Kris Bower. Watch “The Last Repair Shop” on Disney+ (40 minutes) or stream here.
The Live Action program is dark. Full of heavy-handed themes of emotional struggles and despair, we see a man drowning in his grief (the brilliant David Oyelowo), a financially strapped mother desperate to pay for an abortion (heart-breaking), the final moments in a rage-filled talented young man’s life, and a charming hapless mourner trying to say his final goodbyes to his dead wife. All worthy nominations but it was a relief to watch the slight, and silly, “Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”.
“The After” is available on Netflix (18 min) and has a brutal beginning that feels jarring. It’s worth seeking out for Oyelowo’s performance. “Red, White, and Blue” stars Brittany Snow and is a gut-punch of a film, tragic but well-crafted. Directed by Nazrin Choudhury, watch on Vimeo (23 minutes). The French/Canadian film, “Invincible” about the angry young man is well-edited and Léokim Beaumier-Lépine, is mesmerizing in the role. Vimeo (30 min)
“Knights of Fortune” is the charming Danish film about an unlikely connection in a funeral home. Its available via the New Yorkers YouTube channel (28 min). The very Wes-Anderson-style, Wes Anderson directed “Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” lacks the charm of most of his work. Starring a handful of actors playing all the roles like a high school stage production, this inventive tale has a fun production style but not much heart.
Most of the nominated shorts are available to stream online and are worth checking out. Unlike previous years, many of the films were made with corporate dollars and as such, lack that edgy indie feel. They range in length from a fast-paced 4-minutes of fun animated singing cat (“I’m Hip”) to the longer documentary films like the 39-minutes of “The Last Repair Shop”. I was thankful I got to watch the Animation Shorts in the theater where the artistry really shines. You can check out all the nominees on the ShortsTV website and decides which ones look appealing to you, then stream them online.
Drinks with films 