Oscar nominated short film theatrical release program celebrates 10th Anniversary

oscar-shorts-2015-nominated-films-screening-poster-imagesShortsHD is once again bringing the popular Oscar Nominated Short Film program (Live Action, Animation, and Documentary) to theaters across the globe starting on January 30th.

The theatrical release of The Oscar Nominated Short Films has met enthusiastic audiences ever since its launch 10 years ago giving people around the world an opportunity to see the nominated films prior to the Academy Awards ceremony on 22nd February.

Together with the theatrical run, the nominated short films will be available on Vimeo OnDemand, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Verizon, along with U.S. VOD/Pay Per View platforms.

Find a list of participating theaters Right Here. You can also read about each Short film, below.

LIVE ACTION

AYA

Israel & France / 39 mins
Directors: Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun
Producers: Yael Abecassis, Hilel Rozman, Pablo Mehler
Co-writer: Tom Shoval
Production: Cassis Films (Israel), Divine Productions (France)

Two strangers unexpectedly meet at an airport. He mistakenly assumes her to be his assigned driver. She, enchanted by the random encounter, does not hurry to prove him wrong.

BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM

UK / 14 mins
Director: Michael Lennox
Producer: Brian J. Falconer
Writer: Ronan Blaney

Jamesy and Malachy are over the moon when their soft-hearted dad presents them with two baby chicks to care for. Raising their tiny charges, declaring themselves vegetarian and dreaming of running a chicken farm, the two boys are in for a shock when their parents announce that big changes are coming to the family. Starring Martin McCann, Charlene McKenna, Riley Hamilton and Aaron Lynch.

BUTTER LAMP (LA LAMPE AU BEURRE DE YAK)

France & China / 15 mins
Director: Hu Wei
Producer: Julien Féret

A young itinerant photographer and his assistant offer to photograph some Tibetan nomads in front of various backgrounds.

PARVANEH

Switzerland / 25 mins
Director: Talkhon Hamzavi
Producer: Stefan Eichenberger
A young Afghan immigrant travels to Zurich where she encounters a punk named Emily.

THE PHONE CALL

UK / 21 mins
Director: Mat Kirkby
Writers: Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

“THE PHONE CALL” follows HEATHER, (played by OSCAR® nominee SALLY HAWKINS), a shy lady who works at a helpline call centre. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man (played by Oscar winner JIM BROADBENT) she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever.

ANIMATION

A SINGLE LIFE

The Netherlands / 2 mins
Production: Job, Joris & Marieke

When playing a mysterious vinyl single, Pia is suddenly able to travel through her life.

FEAST

USA / 6 mins
Director: Patrick Osborne
Producer: Kristina Reed

“FEAST”, a new short from first-time director Patrick Osborne (Head of Animation, “PAPERMAN”) and Walt Disney Animation Studios, is the story of one man’s love life as seen through the eyes of his best friend and dog, Winston, and revealed bite by bite through the meals they share.

ME AND MY MOULTON

Canada & Norway / 14 mins
Director: Torill Kove
Producers: Lise Fearnley, Marcy Page
Production: Mikrofilm AS in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada

One summer in mid-’60s Norway, a seven-year-old girl asks her parents if she and her sisters can have a bicycle. Me and My Moulton provides a glimpse of its young protagonist’s thoughts as she struggles with her sense that her family is a little out of sync with what she perceives as “normal”.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

UK / 7 mins
Director: Daisy Jacobs
Producer: Christopher Hees

‘You want to put her in a home; you tell her; tell her now!’ hisses one brother to the other. But Mother won’t go, and their own lives unravel as she clings on. Innovative life-size animated characters tell the stark and darkly humorous tale of caring for an elderly parent.

THE DAM KEEPER

USA / 18 mins
Directors: Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
Production: Tonko House

The Dam Keeper, an original animated short film by feature animation artists Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, tells the tale of a young pig encumbered with an important job, and the meeting of a new classmate who changes everything. A first-time collaboration between some of the most talented artists in animation, The Dam Keeper made its world premiere as an official selection at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival and is slated to make its US premiere at The New York International Children’s Film Festival this spring.

Set in a desolate future, one small town’s survival is solely due to a large windmill dam that acts as a fan to keep out poisonous clouds. Despite bullying from classmates and an indifferent public, the dam’s operator, Pig, works tirelessly to keep the sails spinning in order to protect the town. When a new student, Fox, joins Pig’s class, everything begins to change.

Made up of over 8,000 paintings, The Dam Keeper blends traditional hand-drawn animation with lush brushstrokes to bring Kondo and Tsutsumi’s celebrated painting-style to life like never before. The Danish actor Lars Mikkelsen of television’s Forbrydelsen (The Killing), and BBC’s Sherlock, narrates this timeless fable. Directors Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi are known for their art direction on such beloved films as Ice Age, Ratatouille, Monsters University and Toy Story 3.

DOCUMENTARY

CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1

USA / 39 mins
Director: Ellen Goosenberg Kent
Producer: Dana Perry

The timely documentary CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1 spotlights the traumas endured by America’s veterans, as seen through the work of the hotline’s trained responders, who provide immediate intervention and support in hopes of saving the lives of service members.

JOANNA

Poland / 40 mins
Director: Aneta Kopacz
Producer: Adam Slesicki
Production: Wajda Studio

With great visual poetry, ‘Joanna’ portrays the simple and meaningful moments in the life of her family. Diagnosed with an untreatable illness, Joanna promises her son that she will do her best to live for as long as possible. It is a story of close relationships, tenderness, love and thoughtfulness.

OUR CURSE

Poland / 27 mins
Director: Tomasz Sliwinski
Production: Warsaw Film School

The film is a personal statement of the director and his wife, who have to deal with a very rare and incurable disease of their newborn child – the Ondine’s Curse (also known as CCHS, congenital central hypoventilation syndrome). People affected with this disease stop breathing during sleep and require lifetime mechanical ventilation on a ventilator.

THE REAPER (LA PARKA)

Mexico / 29 mins
Director: Gabriel Serra Argüello
Producers: Henner Hofmann, Liliana Pardo, Karla Bukantz

Efrain, known as the Reaper, has worked at a slaughterhouse for 25 years. We will discover his deep relationship with death and his struggle to live.

WHITE EARTH

USA / 20 mins
Director/Producer: J. Christian Jensen

Thousands of souls flock to America’s Northern Plains seeking work in the oil fields. “White Earth” is the tale of an oil boom seen through unexpected eyes. Three children and an immigrant mother brave a cruel winter and explore themes of innocence, home and the American Dream.