Short Films

 A quick note about the short films before today’s announcement…There are fifteen shorts nominated in each of the three short film categories and I was fortunate to see 33 of the 45 films- 13 animated films, 9 documentaries and 10 live-action. 

The best were “The Butcher’s Stain” (Israel), “Playing God” (Italy) and “Armed with a Camera” (USA) though only the last one is guaranteed to be nominated for an Oscar. 

Here are my predictions for the films I saw- 

Animated- 

1. Snow Bear- Somehow the official frontrunner…Cute but forgettable. B+

2. The Girl Who Cried Pearls- Brilliantly animated stop-motion fable by a previous nominee. A-

3. Éiru- Forgettable Celtic myth…Also said to be a frontrunner for the win. B

4. Playing God- Terrifyingly beautiful. Best of the lot. A

5: Papillon- Original animation…Important but dull story of a Jewish Algerian swimmer facing discrimination and the Nazis. B+

6. Forevergreen- The best of the “cute” children’s shorts. A

7. Retirement Plan- An A for the script, a C for the rather plain and simple animation. B+

8. Hurikán- Funny, “Run Lola Run”-esque urban adventure with a boarman looking for beer in a Czech town. B+

9. Cardboard- Cute kiddie comedy about a family of pigs. B+

10. Autokar- Dull, dreamy “Alice in Wonderland” set on a Polish bus. B

11. The Shyness of Trees- French fantasy about a woman and her dying (Wiccan?) mom. B

12. I Died in Irpin- I support Ukraine but did not enjoy this primitive short. C-

13. Les bottes de la nuit- Kiddie film about a haunted forest. B-

I didn’t see Quinta’s Ghost, which I hear is a dark horse, or Three Sisters, which I’ve heard will NOT be nominated. 

Documentaries 

1. All the Empty Rooms, A. So sad…and will probably win. A documentary filmmaker films the rooms of school shooting victims. 

2. Armed Only with a Camera, A+ Deserves to win. Fitting tribute to a great journalist. 

3. Rovina’s Choice, A. Film about the effects of USAID cuts on individual family at a refugee camp in Kenya. Politically important. 

4. Cashing Out, A-. Fascinating look at a controversial company that helped monetize the life insurance of AIDS patients in the 80s. 

5. Bad Hostage, A-. Well-made and informative look at so-called “Stockholm Syndrome” telling three complete stories of female hostages. 

6. Last Days on Lake Trinity, A-. Devastatingly sad and very well-done cinema verite. 

7. All the Walls Came Down, B. Important topic, middling filmmaking. 

8. Perfectly a Strangeness, Is following a bunch of cute donkeys around with a camera, a reason to give the director an Oscar? Cute but no. C

9. We Were the Scenery, Boring film that looks like someone filming their Vietnamese grandparents telling a story.  C-

I didn’t see “The Devil is Busy” which will surely take one of the five nomination spots, and  “Heartbeat” which will probably come in last place. I also failed to see  “Chasing Time”, “Classroom Four”, “Children No More” and “On Healing Land”. 

Live-Action

1. Friend of Dorothy, A-. Give Miriam Margolyes an Oscar! cute funny very well-made short film from UK

2. Beyond Silence, B+. Sexual assault drama from the Netherlands

3. Boy with the White Skin, B+. Film about an albino boy in Senegal. This is shot like a horror film and is a very good short….even though it seems like they forgot to film a final scene.

4. Ado, B.School shooting drama. A bit over-emotional and maudlin. Oscar should love it

5. Butcher’s Stain, A. Best film on the list. This is an Israeli film, shot like a thriller, about discrimination against Arabs in Israeli society.

6. Extremism, B+. Film about Putin’s repression in Russia told from the perspective of two young lesbians. 

7. Pantyhose, A-. Formulaic but fun and relatable relationship comedy from Finland. 

8. Jane Austen’s Period Drama, A-. Super fun comedy, but probably too silly for the Oscars. 

9. Amarela, B- Average short about the life of a Brazilian Japanese girl

10. Butterfly on a Wheel, D. How can a film that looks and sound so beautiful be so bad? 

I missed seeing The Singers, Pearl Comb, Two People Exchanging Saliva, Rock Paper Scissors and Dads Not Home.