The regular movie-going audiences generally overlook short films because usually there's no sure way to see them. That is unless you happened to go to a movie in Los Angeles where one was linked with the feature film you went to see. Otherwise, short films are traditionally reserved for festival-goers and even then it’s only those at a festival who go out of their way to attend a shorts program who see them. Fortunately, that has recently changed. For the past nine years the Oscar Nominated Shorts have been organized into a group presentation for public viewing, and this year is no exception. ShortsHD, the Short Movie Channel will be screening the 2013 Academy Award Nominated Animated and Live Action Short Films at the NuArt in West Los Angeles and at the Regency South Coast Village 3 in Orange County starting Friday, January 31. The films will be presented as two collective programs with separate admissions for each group, with the Oscar nominated Documentary Shorts set to open as a third program later in Los Angeles on February 14.
The world's only channel dedicated to short films, the Short Movie Channel (www.shorts.tv) is working with Magnolia Pictures to make this special presentation happen in over 250 theaters across the United States, Canada and Europe, with more than 400 theaters slated to screen the films during its theatrical release. These screenings will be the only opportunity for audiences to watch the nominated shorts prior to the 86th Academy Awards® ceremony on Sunday, March 2, 2014. After that you’ll already know who the winners are and have lost your chance at having an edge in your office Oscar pool. Truly a wide open category where anyone can win, this year’s nominated Shorts originate from all parts of the globe, representing the pinnacle of filmmaking from Japan, the UK, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Finland, the UAE, Yemen, Canada and the United States.
The Live Action Short Film Nominees run about 108 minutes all together and include That Wasn’t Me, a story set in Africa amongst child guerrilla soldiers, Just Before Losing Everything, which is a French film about domestic abuse, Do I Have to Take Care of Everything, a family comedy from Finland, The Voorman Problem a high profile effort from the UK that stars Martin Freeman, and what I believe to be the front runner, the Danish fantasy/drama, Helium. Each of these films has tremendous production value and is well deserving of the recognition, but there can only be one winner and my money’s on Helium. I’ll refrain from saying why because I don’t wont to give anything away, and I truly want you to see these films for yourself. More than likely they’ll be the best things you’ve seen all year. And no doubt, there’s bound to be a future feature filmmaker or two emerging from the group in the coming years.
Likewise, I was impressed with the Animated Short Film nominees. Running just a bit longer at 110 minutes, the diversity in this category is even more wide spread. With films ranging from the traditional to the innovative, do not be surprised if this is a tough one for you to make a conclusive call on. The first US submission, Feral is unique in its use of sketches and a style that suggests flowing watercolor. Whereas, the other US contender, Get a Horse is a product of the Walt Disney Company and uses a combination of old school Mickey with creative story telling to keep you laughing (honestly, you’ve never seen the world’s most famous mouse like this before!). At the same time, France’s Mr. Hublot has a dystopian whimsy that charms like no other nominee. Whereas, Possessions, a very styled entry from Japan is a feast for the eyes. And England’s Room on the Broom is a sweet tale with a sort of Toy Story-ish quality to its look.
I recommend seeing these films in the theater while you still can. It's not often that you get the opportunity to see such high quality filmmaking with such entertainment value from all over the world. And they are shorts after all. So, if there’s one that’s not really to your liking all you have to do is wait a few minutes and something completely different will be along in no time. But I don’t think you’ll want to leave your seat or even turn away, not even for a moment. The films here may be short, but they have the power to hold a viewers attention with the full impact of a feature film, and then some. Given the choice of the typical offerings at the Cineplex and these short little beauties I’d pick the latter. After all, a satisfying five-course feast that out-entertains any single film far more deserves your hard-earned dollar than yet another potentially disappointing current release. You won’t be disappointed.
For a sneak peak at The Oscar® Nominated Short Films 2014 program, go to http://theoscarshorts.shorts.tv/