Post date: Feb 22, 2012 10:42:10 AM
PENTECOST / RAJU / THE SHORE / TIME FREAK / TUBA ATLANTIC / DIMANCHE/SUNDAY /
THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE / LA LUNA /
A MORNING STROLL / WILD LIFE - The films nominated in the live action short category at this year's
84th Annual Academy Awards are: "Pentecost," "Raju," The Shore," Time Freak," and "Tuba Atlantic." The
films nominated in the animated shorts category are: "Dimanche/Sunday," "The Fantastic Flying Books of
Mr. Morris Lessmore,: "La Luna," "A Morning Stroll," and "Wild Life."
A look at the ten Oscar-nominated films in the live action and animated shorts categories.
From Ireland, 11 minute film "Pentecost," directed by Peter McDonald: When Damian is forced to serve as an altar boy at an important mass in his local parish he faces a difficult choice: conform to the status quo or serve an extended ban from his passion in life, football.
From Germany and India, 24 -minute film "Raju," directed by Max Zahle: A German couple adopts in Kolkata an Indian orphan. Their child suddenly disappears and they realize that they are part of the problem.
From Northern Ireland, 30-minute film "The Shore," directed by Terry George: The uplifting story of two boyhood best friends, divided for 25 years by the tumult of the troubles in Northern Ireland. When one returns home to Northern Ireland, the two men are brought together for a reunion, with unexpected results.
From the United States, 11-minute film "Time Freak," directed by Andrew Bowler: A neurotic inventor creates a time machine, only to get caught up traveling around the day before.
From Norway, 25-minute film "Tuba Atlantic," directed by Hallvar Witzo: When seventy-year-old Oskar is told that he has only six days left to live, he wants to put things right with his brother who lives in New Jersey. Inger, a public "death angel" is sent out to help Oscar through his remaining days. A huge horn stands at the edge of the sea, built by the brothers when they were kids. Will its sound cross the Atlantic?
In the animated category: from Canada, 9-minute film "Dimanche/Sunday," directed by Patrick Doyon: Every Sunday, it's the same old routine! The train clatters through the village and almost shakes the pictures off the wall. In the church, Dad dreams about his toolbox. And of course later Grandma will get a visit and the animals will meet their fate.
From the United States, 7-minute film "La Luna," directed by Enrico Casarosa: A coming of age film involving a boy with his father and grandfather taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family's most unusual line of work.
From the United States, 17-minute film "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg: Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story, involving a young man who mysteriously travels to a land where books are themselves living characters.
From Canada, 14-minute film "Wild Life," Directed by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby: Calgary, 1909. An Englishman moves to the Canadian frontier, but is singularly unsuited to it. His letters home are much sunnier than the reality. Intertitles compare his fate to that of a comet.
And from the United Kingdom, 7-minute film "A Morning Stroll," directed by Grant Orchard: When a New Yorker walks past a chicken on his morning stroll, we are left to wonder which one is the real city slicker.
Tune in to see which film will win the Oscar for best animated short and live action short on Sunday, February 26, when the Academy Awards will be handed out in a live telecast.