Saturday, March 1, 2014

Oscars: The Shorts

It's that time of year. My favorite holiday that's not a holiday. The Academy Awards will be airing tomorrow night and 2013 had a ton of fantastic movies to celebrate. I would contend that Her is a generation-definer12 Years a Slave is the best of its genre, and Gravity was a technical and plot filled wonder. While I could give a lot of opinions on who should win and who got snubbed (something I did with a blog last year), there are plenty of other blogs and websites out there that can do that much better than I.

I would like to take a moment to focus on the short-films nominated for Oscar awards. Our local library out here in Pennsylvania so splendidly has viewings of all the animated, live-action, and documentary shorts that are up for awards. So I spent a solid chunk of time sitting in the Community Room of our library this weekend, watching fifteen fantastic little gems. There's nothing like celebrating under-represented cinema with a bunch of wealthy people over the age of sixty.

Alright, I would like to list my favorite from each category alongside which film I predict to win each category.
Animated Short Film Nominees
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom

My favorite: Mr. Hublot
Who will win: Get a Horse!

Live Action Short Film Nominees
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

My favorite: Just Before Losing Everything
Who will win: The Voorman Problem

Documentary Short Subject Nominees
Cave Digger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

My favorite: Cave Digger
Who will win: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

The Academy Awards air tomorrow night (Sunday, March 2) at 8:30pm on abc.