Oscar buzz has begun, especially around nominees for Best Film, including Boyhood, Birdman and The Imitation Game. The Academy defines feature films as having a running time longer than forty minutes, and one great aspect of the Academy Awards is the acknowledgement of the full scope of filmmaking, including “short films,” whose brevity demands an economy of expression while also delivering a profound effect.
The Academy traditionally awards three separate Oscars for Best Short Film: documentary, live action and animation. Since these films are difficult to gain access to in theaters, a special viewing for the Oscar nominees is arranged to give audiences a chance to see these films on the big screen before one in each category is handed the little golden man.
Luckily, Seattle film lovers will get the chance to partake of this cinematic nourishment. One of my favorite local theatres, Seven Gables Theatre will be showing films nominated in two of the three of the categories—Best Short Film Live Action and Best Short Film Animated. The program is for one-week only, starting this Friday, January 30.
Oscar Nominated Short Films at Seven Gables
When: Friday, January 30 through Thursday, February 5
Where: Seven Gables Theatre (911 Northeast 50th Street)
Check out showtimes online for the animated and live action programs.
Animated Shorts Program (77 Minutes)
The Oscar Nominees:
Me and My Moulton (Torill Kove) – 14 minutes
Feast (Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed) – 6 minutes
The Bigger Picture (Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees) – 7 minutes
A Single Life (Marieke Blaauw, Joris Oprins, Job Roggeveen) – 2 minutes
The Dam Keeper (Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi) – 18 minutes
Additional Animated Shorts:
Sweet Cocoon – 6 minutes
Footprints – 4 minutes
Duet – 4 minutes
Bus Story – 11 minutes
Live Action Shorts Program (117 Minutes)
Parvaneh (Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger) – 25 minutes
Boogaloo and Graham (Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney) – 14 minutes
Aya (Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis) – 39 minutes
The Phone Call (Mat Kirkby and James Lucas) – 21 minutes
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak) (Hu Wei and Julien Féret) – 15 minutes