A lot of people haven’t seen the Best Picture nominees this year, so we can assume that possibly no one — maybe not even Academy members themselves — has seen the short films. But there’s still time!
Starting Jan. 30, the recognized titles will play in over 350 venues across the U.S. and Canada. Check out the full list and head to the theater, or just wait for them to be on VOD in February (because, let’s be real, you’re not getting off your couch):
Live Action
“Aya”
“Aya” tells the story of two strangers who meet at an airport when a man mistakes a woman for his chauffeur, and she is so intrigued she goes along with it. Basically, Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun’s short is the closest thing to a rom-com we could expect to be nominated for an Oscar this year: a serendipitous meet-cute, except understated and with subtitles.
AYA – Short Film – Official trailer from Oded Binnun עודד בן נון on Vimeo.
“Boogaloo and Graham”
In 1978 Belfast, a father gives his sons, Jamesy and Malachy, two chicks, Boogaloo and Graham. They become vegetarians, make plans to start a chicken farm and just generally grow obsessed to their pets (in part, through a montage set to “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?”), before having to grapple with the way their family is about to change.
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NASZA KLĄTWA / OUR CURSE (trailer) from Tomasz Śliwiński on Vimeo.
“The Reaper”
In “The Reaper,” a longtime slaughterhouse worker (hence the subtle title) faces his own relationship with death in light of his gruesome surroundings. “The animals just came in and stared at me,” he says, recounting a dream against a montage of bloodied cow bodies and steel. “They said, ‘It’s your turn.'”
La Parka / The Reaper trailer from CCCMexico on Vimeo.
“White Earth”
“White Earth” could have easily folded out into a feature-length film, though it benefitted from zooming in where it did. This documentary depicts the families of the (mostly) men who uproot their lives to work on the oil rigs in North Dakota. Director J. Christian Jensen spends almost no time with the men themselves, opting for an unflinching look at what life looks like for the people closest to them instead.
