Notizie

On Tuesday evening, The Academy kicked off Oscar Week. In the final days leading up to Oscar Sunday, movie fans will be offered throughout the week a up-close look with a series of public programs celebrating this year’s nominees in the Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Animated and Live Action Short Film categories.

Hosted by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Oscar Nominated for Kung Fu Panda 2, and director of Kung Fu Panda 3, the evening spotlighted the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories.

The “Oscar Week: Shorts” event, held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, featured a screening of all 10 nominated shorts in their entirety, as well as discussions with all of the nominated filmmakers.

On the heels of breaking box office records for this year’s Oscar nominated short films in theaters across the country,...

The 88th Annual Academy Awards are just around the corner on Sunday evening, so once again, it’s time to lay down my predictions for who has the best chance of winning in each of the 24 categories, along with a bit of analysis as to why they appear to be the frontrunners. As usual, I’ll start from the smallest categories and work my way up, so let’s get started:

Best Animated Short Film

“Bear Story” Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala

“Prologue” Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton

“Sanjay’s Super Team” Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle

“We Can’t Live without Cosmos” Konstantin Bronzit

“World of Tomorrow” Don Hertzfeldt

Best Live Action Short Film

“Ave Maria” Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont

“Day One” Henry Hughes

“Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)” Patrick Vollrath

“Shok” Jamie Donoughue

“Stutterer” Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage

Best Documentary Short Subject

“Body Team 12...

“Day One” is a wartime drama the likes of which we have not seen before, with a marvelous Layla Alizada as an interpreter with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

It’s really tough for me to pick a single best film among the excellent crop of Oscar nominees for Best Live Action Short. They are all very personal, even when the backdrops of some are huge conflicts. That’s probably necessary when telling a story in a small space, but it helps to make all of them feel very intimate; even the ones most remote from my own experience instantly felt recognizable. If these five films — the longest of which is only 30 minutes, and most are much shorter — can be said to have a unifying theme, it’s this: We’re not alone.

Ahead of the Academy Awards, we’re reviewing each short category. See the Live Action section below and the other shorts sections here.

Ave Maria – Palestine/France/Germany – 15 minutes

Director Basil Khalil and co-writer Daniel Yáñez have come up with a cutely comic conceit for their short film Ave Maria. It’s the West Bank—miles from civilization—and a car carrying a Jewish man, his wife, and his mother crashes into a Catholic church run by five Arab nuns who have taken a vow of silence. If everyone follows the rites of their religion, the women able to help the family mustn’t talk and the family, who realize that it’s now the Shabbat, can’t operate any machinery necessary to move along. It’s quite the conundrum for the devout and a perfect recipe for discovering a common ground as human beings with enough laughs to keep us entertained for the duration.

ShortsHD, the Only Short Film Channel (www.shorts.tv), working with Magnolia Pictures, will open “The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016” on over 400 screens across the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America on Friday January 29, 2016. “The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016” will showcase the Live Action, Animation and Documentary short film nominees compilation as three separate theatrical events.

This marks the 11th year of the Oscar nominated short films theatrical experience and is the only opportunity for audiences to watch the nominated short films prior to the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, February 28, 2016.

In 2015, the Oscar Nominated Short Films earned over $2.4 million worldwide, nearly doubling from just a few years prior. One of the most diverse categories in Academy consideration, this year’s Oscar® Nominated Short Films feature with projects originating from United States, France, Germany, Palestine, United Kingdom, Kosovo, Austria, Chile, Russia, Liberia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Canada.

“Films...

With the short film "Shok," the Eastern European Kosovo has earned its very first film Oscar nomination from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science , marking this the biggest achievement in Kosovo’s film industry to date.

Written and directed by Jamie Donoughue the film has been nominated among 4 other films in the Best Live Action Short Film category at the 88th edition of the awards.

"Shok" is a short film set in Kosovo during the occupation of the 90’s, where the friendship of two boys is tested to its limits as they struggle to survive during Kosovo war.

The film is a co-production between Kosovo and UK, produced by Eshref Durmishi and Harvey Ascott, supported by the Kosovo Cinematography Center.

This is the hugest success in Kosovo’s film history to date. "Shok" has now opened doors for Kosovan films to garnered attention at one of the most important award ceremonies in the film world.

The other nominated films are "Ave Maria," "Day One," "Everything Will Be Okay," and "Stutterer"

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 88th Academy Awards. One hundred forty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“Ave Maria,” Basil Khalil, director, and Eric Dupont, producer (Incognito Films)

“Bad Hunter,” Sahim Omar Kalifa, director, and Dries Phlypo, producer (A Private View)

“Bis Gleich (Till Then),” Philippe Brenninkmeyer, producer, and Tara Lynn Orr, writer (avenueROAD Films)

“Contrapelo (Against the Grain),” Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, director, and Pin-Chun Liu, producer (Ochenta y Cinco Films)

“Day One,” Henry Hughes, director (American Film Institute)

“Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut),” Patrick Vollrath, director (Filmakademie Wien)

“The Free Man (Zi You Ren),” Quah Boon-Lip, director (Taipei National University of the Arts)

“Shok,” Jamie Donoughue, director (Eagle Eye Films)

“Stutterer,” Benjamin Cleary, director (Bare Golly Films)

“Winter Light,...

The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences announced on Thursday the shortlists for both categories.

The live-action selections were culled from 144 eligible submissions while there were 60 for animation.

Members of the short films and feature animation branch viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting and will next select five nominees.

Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco in December.

The 10 live-action films appear below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

Ave Maria, Basil Khalil, director, and Eric Dupont, producer (Incognito Films);

Bad Hunter, Sahim Omar Kalifa, director, and Dries Phlypo, producer (A Private View);

Bis Gleich (Till Then), Philippe Brenninkmeyer, producer, and Tara Lynn Orr, writer (avenueROAD Films);

Contrapelo (Against the Grain), Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, director, and Pin-Chun Liu, producer (Ochenta y Cinco Films);

Day One, Henry Hughes, director (American Film Institute);

Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut), Patrick Vollrath, director (Filmakademie...

The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences announced on Thursday its shortlist from 144 submissions.

Members of the short films and feature animation branch viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting and will next select five nominees.

Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco in December.

The 10 films appear below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: 

Ave Maria, Basil Khalil, director, and Eric Dupont, producer (Incognito Films);

Bad Hunter, Sahim Omar Kalifa, director, and Dries Phlypo, producer (A Private View);

Bis Gleich (Till Then), Philippe Brenninkmeyer, producer, and Tara Lynn Orr, writer (avenueROAD Films);

Contrapelo (Against the Grain), Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, director, and Pin-Chun Liu, producer (Ochenta y Cinco Films);

Day One, Henry Hughes, director (American Film Institute);

Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut), Patrick Vollrath, director (Filmakademie Wien);

The Free Man (Zi You Ren), Quah Boon-Lip, director (Taipei...