On This Page:     |   Ticket Info    |   Schedule & Summary    |   Program A Film Descriptions    |   Program B Film Descriptions    |   Dinner & a Movie    |  
 
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Essential Event Info

W H A T :

  • OSCAR SHORTS
  • Two programs ("A" and "B"), each with running times off approximately 115 minutes. In English and various languages with English subtitles.
  • Genre: Short Live-Action & Animation; comedy, romance and drama.
  • NR (not rated) but suitable for all audiences, high-school and older.


  • W H E N :

  • Tuesday, April 22, Program A
  • Wednesday, April 23, Program B
  • Tuesday, April 29, Program B
  • Wednesday, April 30, Program A

  • All screenings at 7:00 pm,
    doors open at 6:30 pm

    W H E R E :

  • Cincinnati Art Museum,
    953 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park/Mt. Adams.
  • Easy Access, Free Parking
    click for Directions & Map


  • T I C K E T S :

  • Cincinnati Art Museum,
  • Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for Art Museum members and students with valid ID.

    $7 tickets are ONLY available online, by phone, at the Museum, and at the door subject to availability.

    ADVANCE TICKETS:

  • ON-LINE
  • tollfree 1-877-548-3237
  • at the Art Museumor by calling 513 721 ARTS

  • ...and at these locations
    ($9 tix only, cash only),
    click each location below for a map:

  • Clifton-Ludlow Ave. -
    Sitwell's Coffee House
    513 281 7487

  • Mt. Lookout Square -
    Lookout Joe Coffee Roasters

    513 871 8626

  • Northside-Hamilton Ave -
    Shake It Music & Video
    513 591 0123

  • Downtown Cincinnati -
    Coffee Emporium
    513 651 5483


  • Tickets will also be available at the door, subject to availability.


    Dinner-and-a-Movie

    Dinner-and-a-Movie

    To complete your night out, we've arranged dinner discounts with two restaurants offering great food at reasonable prices:

    Tues & Weds, Apr 22-23 & Apr 29-30
    Andy's Mediterranean Grill.
    Conveniently located just a few blocks from the Art Museum at 906 Nassau Street near Gilbert Avenue.

    Ask your server for the CWC Discount on these nights and receive receive a 10% food-and-beverage discount (excluding alcohol) for meals before or afterthe film.

    Andy's features great Lebanese meat, chicken, fish and vegetarian specialities, including Kabobs, Shwarma, Lebanese Pizza, Baba Ghannouj, Labneh, Falafel, Hummus with Tahini, etc. Reservations suggested, call 513.281.9791. Click here for directions, menu and general info and click here for a map.


    Weds, April 23 & April 30
    The Terrace Cafe at the Cincinnati Art Museum.
      CWC ticket holders attending on these nights will receive a 10% discount (excluding alcohol), just ask your server for the CWC Discount. The restaurant fills up quickly on film nights, so reservations are recommended, call 513.639.2986. View menu here.


     

    7th Annual Oscar Shorts
    CWC presents the 7th Annual Screening
    of the
    Academy Award Nominated Live-Action & Animated Short Films.



    Listen to the Oscar Shorts review on WVXU 91.7 FM, Cincinnati

    Each year we see tantalizing clips from the nominated short films at the Academy Awards and then they vanish. Some reappear on late-night cable and satellite; others bounce around the Internet in compressed low-resolution versions.

    Theatre audiences across the country affirm that these films deserve to be seen and that pound-for-pound they are equal or superior to the feature film fare that inhabits American movie houses. Cincinnati World Cinema is one of roughly 60 organizations to screen the Oscar Shorts in the U.S. and this, our 7th Annual presentation, makes us one of the longest-running continous presenters.

    With no nominee by an American director in either the live-action or animated categories this year, the Oscar short films are dominated by European titles and offer a source of refreshingly new talent - award winning, expressionistic and thoughtfully created works from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, Russia and the U.K. This year's roster is substantial - 4 hours of films divided into two programs - offering an unique and entertaining mix of drama, comedy and romance, with animated pieces that are particularly gorgeous.

    Where do the Nominated Shorts come from and how are they selected?

    A fascinating interview with Jon Bloom, the Academy's Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Executive Committee Chair, regarding this year's Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short Film and Best Live Action Short Film. Listen here.


    THIS YEAR'S HIGHLIGHTS: an enterpreneurial priest and his pay-for-Heaven machine; three women finding courage and humor as they spend Christmas in the hospital; an interview with John Lennon; an inept and endearing band of pickpockets, a 19th Century Russian love triangle, a new twist on the Tango; an eccentric French woman and her encounters on a train, Anthony Quinn's son Francesco starring in a Western written by Elmore Leonard, a heart-warming (and different) adaptation of Peter & The Wolf; and an Italian substitute teacher from Hell. Plus, two excellent bonus shorts.

    Make time to treat yourself to these two programs of outstanding short film, and bring your friends!!


    Schedule & Program Roster

    Program Composition

  • The films are evenly divided into two programs ("A" and "B"), each with three live-action and three animated works.
  • Each program runs for roughly two hours and each has different content - nothing is duplicated.
  • Each program has five Oscar-nominated films, including an Oscar winner; and a bonus short is added to round out the bill to six films in each program.


  • Schedule

    The film schedule conveniently spans two weeks, so everyone can see both programs:  
  • Program "A" - Tuesday April 22, repeats Wednesday April 30.
  • Program "B" - Wednesday April 23, repeats Tuesday April 29.
  • *** There are four easy ways to see both programs:
    Apr 22 & 23     Apr 22 & 29     Apr 23 & 30     Apr 29 & 30

    Program "A"

  • EVEN PIGEONS GO TO HEAVEN, France, 9 min, Animation
  • AT NIGHT, Denmark, 40 min, Live-Action
  • I MET THE WALRUS, Canada, 5 min, Animation
  • THE MOZART OF PICKPOCKETS, France, 30 min, Live-Action Oscar Winner
  • MY LOVE, Russia, 26 min, Animation
  • UN BISOU POUR LE MONDE, France, 9 min, Live-Action (Bonus Short)


  • Program "B"

  • TANGO ARGENTINA, Belgium, 14 min, Live-Action
  • MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI, Canada, 17 min, Animation
  • THE TONTO WOMAN, United Kingdom, 36 min, Live-Action
  • PETER & THE WOLF, Poland/UK, 33 min, Animation Oscar Winner
  • THE SUBSTITUTE, Italy, 16 min, Live-Action
  • OVER TIME, France, 5 min, Animation (Bonus Short)


  • Synopsis, filmmaker and award info, by program -- in the panels below.

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    Program A ~ Film Descriptions

    EVEN PIGEONS GO TO HEAVEN    Animation
    (MEME LES PIGEONS VONT AU PARADIS)


    Director Samuel Tourneux, Producer Simon Vanesse, France, 2007, 9 minutes, in French with English subtitles.

    With more acerbic wit and sense of dark humor than most American comedies, "Pigeons" is set in a small village in Normandy. This is a tongue-in-check story about an enterprising cleric who tries to sell a miserly old man (unknowingly facing a visit from the Grim Reaper) a machine that will supposedly take the man to Heaven. Fate, irony and the Reaper intervene to produce an unexpected conclusion.

    This is the only nominated short made with 3-D computer animation, with lavish attention to detail and textures, even fabrics and furniture, and a subtle color palette that invokes amazing realism. Trailer and photos.

    Samuel Tourneux's 1998 animated short Vache Folle (Crazy Cow) received several Best Animation nominations. In 2003, he was co-director of Idiotheque (Idiotech), a live-action short satire about office life. In between film projects, Tourneaux is a visual effects supervisor and directs commercials and music videos for Compagnie BUF in France. Simon Vanesse is a French VFX Producer also working at BUF. He was in charge of VFX segment production for several films: The Prestige (Christopher Nolan), Spiderman 3 (Sam Raimi) and Asterix Aux Jeux Olympiques (Langman/Forestier).

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Best Animated Short, Lutins Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Jury Prize, Intl Festival of Short Films, Cologne, Germany;
    Winner, Prix junior du meilleur court métrage, Annecy, France;
    Winner, Andience Award, Sienna Intl Film Festival, Italy;
    Winner, Prix CineCourt, CineCinema Festival, Meudon, France;
    Winner, Prix Animation, Courtmétrange, Rennes, France;
    Winner, Grand Prix, Courtmétrange, Rennes; Frances;
    Winner, Prix Beaumarchais, Courtmétrange, Rennes, France;
    Winner, Audience Award, San Sebastian Intl Film Festival, Spain;
    Honorary Mention, Ars Electronica Austria.




    AT NIGHT (OM NATTEN)    Live-Action

    Director Christian E. Christiansen, Producer Louise Vesth, Denmark, 2007, 40 minutes, in Danish with English subtitles.

    A moving, sad but not manipulative, and well-crafted film with a Bergmanesque flavor. Three young women battling cancer, Mette, Sara, and Stephanie, form a close friendship while spending the holidays in a hospital. All of them have serious problems, not just in terms of health, but also in their relationships with loved ones.

    The women find comfort in each other's company, where they are free from the fear of death and loneliness, and a substantial part of the film describes their sense of humor, unrestrained candor and zest for life.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Leve-Action Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Audience Award, Danish Film Institute.




    I MET THE WALRUS    Animation

    Director Josh Raskin, Canada, 2007, 5 minutes, in English.

    An innovative and highly original visual narrative that combines drawings with digital illustration that admirably captures John Lennon's wit and world view.

    In 1969, fourteen-year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into Lennon's hotel room with his tape recorder and persuaded his idol to do a 40-minute interview about world peace. Using the original interview recording as the soundtrack, this film abbreviates that interview in the form of pen-and-ink drawings, morphing to illustrate Levitan's impressions as he interviewed Lennon.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Best Animated Short, AFI Fest;
    Winner, Best Animation, Middle East Intl Film Festival;
    Winner, Best Animation, Manhattan Short Film Festival;
    Winner, Best Animation Honorary Mention, Ottawa International Animation Festival;
    Winner, Best Animation, Hawaii Intl Film Festival;
    Winner, Best Animation, 10 Or Less Film Festival;
    Winner, International Special Mention, Odense Film Festival;
    Winner, Directors' Special Recognition, San Francisco Shorts;
    Winner, Best Sound Design, Platform Intl Animation Festival;
    Winner, Spirit Award, Brooklyn Intl Film Festival;
    Winner, Outstanding Animation, Winnipeg Intl Film Festival.




    THE MOZART OF THE PICKPOCKETS
    (LE MOZART DES PICKPOCKETS)
        Live-Action  OSCAR WINNER

    Director Philippe Pollet-Villard, France, 2007, 31 minutes, in French with English subtitles.

    In Paris, two bumbling criminals accidentally adopt a deaf-mute boy after a pickpocket job goes wrong and their accomplices are caught. They don't know what to do, but the boy turns out to be their salvation. Philippe and Richard are as appealing as two loser petty thieves can be, and the nameless young child (Matteo Razzouki-Safardi) is so precious you want to reach into the screen, grab him and take him home.

    AWARDS
    Winner, Oscar for Best Live-Action Short Films, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Audience Favorite Award, European Short Film Festival, Brest, France;
    Winner, Prix France 3, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France;
    Winner, Prix RTP2 Onda Curta, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France;
    Winner, Prix Gras Savoye, Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France;
    Winner, Prix du public, Clermont-Ferrand Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Prix talent, Clermont-Ferrand Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Jury Prize, International Youth Film Festival, Gijon, France;
    Winner, Best Fiction Film, Lutin Intl Film Festival, Lutin, France;
    Winner, Best Screenplay, Lutin Intl Film Festival, Lutin, France;
    Winner, Best Editing, Lutin Intl Film Festival, Lutin, France;
    Winner, Audience Awards, Brussels Short Film Festival, Belgium.




    MY LOVE (MOYA LYUBOV)    Animation

    Director Alexander Petrov, Russia, 2007, 27 minutes, in Russian with English subtitles.

    Set in Moscow in the late 19th century, an adolescent boy is torn between attraction to a lovely maid who works in his family's household and a more sophisticated beauty who lives nearby. Reading Turgenev's First Love inspires him to write clandestine letters to the neighbor, but the maid is closer and more familiar.

    The boy, 16-year old Anton, dreams of another reality full of romanticism and heroism. In counterpoint to his routine daily existence, he looks for something bright and pure in this life as he searches for his unique beloved, to whom he'll give his first feelings. See a short clip here.

    Watching "My Love" is like watching the lush impressionistic work of Van Gogh or Monet or Goya come to life in animated motion. Aleksandr Petrov's breathtaking technique of manipulating pastel oils on sheets of glass blurs the line between traditional designations of "high art" oil paintings and "low art" time-based media. Almost every frame in the short exists as a considerable artistic achievement in its own right, from impressionistic studies of a shoe or face or hand to lush rococo landscapes. From wild dream sequences to leisurely pans across impossible-to-recreate vistas of 19th-century Moscow, this is an expression drawn equally from real exteriors and from landscapes of the mind.

    Director Alexander Petrov has two previous Oscar nominations, including a 1999 Academy Award in this category for "The Old Man and The Sea." Petrov paints on glass using oil paints and then photographs each still. With 29,000 images on glass, 'The Old Man' took a almost four years but it looks so magical, it's worth the effort. 'My Love' took the same amount of time to complete and is just as worthy of the praise it receives.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Audience Prize, Hiroshima Intl Animation Festival
    Winner, Special International Jury Prize, Hiroshima Intl Animation Festival;
    Winner, FIPRESCI Prize for Best Animation, Leipzig Intl Festival for Documentary and Animated Film;
    Winner, Excellence Prize, Japan Media Arts Festival;
    Winner, Grand Prix, Open Russian Festival of Animated Film;
    Winner, Best Direction, Open Russian Festival of Animated Film;
    Winner, Best Visuals, Open Russian Festival of Animated Film;
    Winner, Best Animated Film, Lotoy Vityaz, 2007;
    Winner, Grand Jury Prize for Best Film, Melbourne Intl Animation Festival;
    Winner, Professional Jury Award for "Best Animation," Anima Mundi.




    A KISS FOR THE WORLD
    (UN BISOU POUR LE MONDE)
       Live-Action Bonus Short

    Director Cyril Paris, France, 2007, 9 minutes, in French with English subtitles.

    A clash between a primary school teacher and a non-conformist pupil leads to sparks and then an unexpected and happifying outcome. Only recently released, "Un Bisou" features a diverse and talented cast, with top-notch writing and production values. Most important, the film encourages imagination in young people and inspires us all.

    The website, unbisoupourlemonde.com, is as beautifully crafted as the film, with storyboards, music files, shot schedules, still photos and letters from kids around the world.

    AWARDS & FESTIVALS
    Winner, Prix du public, Children's Short Film, Berlin Intl Short Film Festival;
    Winner, Prix UIP Best European Short Film, Seminci-Valladolid Intl Film Festival;
    Official Selection, Cleveland Intl Film Festival;
    Official Selection, French Film Festival in China;
    Official Selection, Palm Springs Intl Short Film Festival;
    Official Selection, RIFF - Roma Independent Film Festival;
    Official Selection, Short Cuts Cologne - Internl Short Film Festival;
    Official Selection, World Film Festival, Montréal.





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    Program B ~ Film Descriptions

    TANGO ARGENTINA    Live-Action
    (TANGHI ARGENTINI)


    Director Guido Thys, Producer Anja Daelemans, Belgium, 2006, 13 minutes, in Dutch with English subtitles.

    With a story line reminiscent of an O. Henry novel, André, an office worker, gets a date with a woman over the Internet who is looking for a Tango companion. With just two weeks to learn the Tango, he enlists the help of a reluctant male colleague, an accomplished Tango dancer.

    His co-worker Frans teaches him the basics and accompanies him to the dance hall on the big night. André's date is a disaster, salvaged in part when he asks Frans to dance the Tango with the disappointed lady.

    As we watch this comedy turn sad, the final frames reveal a wry and touching twist that exposes the story's heart in a way that insures that this Capra-esque tale will stick with you.

    This is Guido Thys' second film. His first, Mon (2001), was also a short. Thys has worked as the director of dramatic and comedic series for television since 1996. This film is producer Anja Daelemans second to be nominated for an Oscar. Her first, Fait D'Hiver (2002), was shown in Cincinnati by CWC as part of the 2003 Oscar Shorts.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Live-Action Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Audience Award, Alcalá de Henares Short Film Festival, Spain;
    Winner, Audience Award, Almería Intl Short Film Festival, Spain;
    Winner, Best Film, Cittadella del Corto, Spain;
    Winner, Audience Award, Clermont-Ferrand Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Best Film, Clermont-Ferrand Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Raynaud Award, Clermont-Ferrand Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Mediatheques Award, Clermont-Ferrand Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Best Belgian Short Film, Flanders Intl Film Festival, Belgium;
    Winner, Audience Award, Geneva Cinéma Tout Ecran, Switzerland;
    Winner, Best Short Film, Geneva Cinéma Tout Ecran, Switzerland;
    Winner, Special Mention, Aix-en-Provence Intl Short Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Best Belgian Short, Flanders Intl Film Festival Ghent;
    Winner, Best Short Film Award, Byron Bay Film Festival, Australia;
    Winner, Best Cinematography Award, Byron Bay Film Festival, Australia;
    Winner, Audience Award, Aspen Shortsfest, USA;
    Winner, BAFTA/LA Award for Excellence, Aspen Shortsfest, USA;
    Winner, Special Recognition, Aspen Shortsfest, USA;
    Winner, Ellen Distinctive Achievement, Aspen Shortsfest, USA;
    Winner, Boulder International Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, BIFF Award, Boulder Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Best Short Film, Boulder Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Best Narrative Short, Bumbershoot 1 Reel Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Best Foreign Film, L.A. Shorts Fest, USA;
    Winner, Audience Award, Portland Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Best Short, Portland Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Grand Prize Best Short, Rhode Island Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Best Short Award, St. Louis Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Best International Short, St. Louis Intl Film Festival, USA;
    Winner, Audience Award, Tabor Film Festival, USA.




    MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI    Animation

    Director Chris Lavis, Producer Maciek Szczerbowski, Canada, 2007, 17 minutes, in English.

    Madame Tutli-Putli boards the night train, weighed down with all her earthly possessions and the ghosts of her past. Traveling alone, she is caught up in a desperate metaphysical adventure between real and imagined worlds. Confronting her personal demons, Madame is drawn into an undertow of mystery and suspense.

    With an eerie score and peculiar characters this film is a visually haunting mix of Tim Burton and Agatha Christie that asks viewers to make their own interpretation. The ending with the moth may look familiar if you saw the 1998 Oscar winner Bunny.

    With wonderful imagery, the film is a mix of stop-motion and computer graphics. Most striking are the animated puppets, which have footage of live actors' eyes cast on their faces, making for an innovative juxtaposition of animation media.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Canal+ Award for Best Short Film, Semaine de la Critique, Cannes, France;
    Winner, Petit Rail d'Or for Best Short Film, Semaine de la Critique, Cannes, France;
    Winner, Best Narrative Short Animation, Ottawa Intl Animation Festival.
    Winner, Yoram Gross Award for Best Animation, Flickerfest Intl Short Film Festival;
    Winner, Special Jury Prize, Intl Festival of Animated Films / I Castelli Animati;
    Winner, Jury Prize for Best Design, Black Nights Film Festival;
    Winner, Special Mention, Intl Shortfilm Festival - Interfilm;
    Winner, Grand Prize, Intl Animated Film Festival / CINANIMA;
    Winner, Prize RTP2, Onda Curta, Intl Animated Film Festival / CINANIMA;
    Winner, Alves Costa Prize, Intl Animated Film Festival / CINANIMA;
    Winner, Best Short Film, Animacor Intl Animation Festival;
    Winner, Best Animation, New York City Short Film Festival;
    Winner, NFB Prize for Best Short Film, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Montréal;
    Winner, Movieola Best Short Award, Calgary Intl Film Festival;
    Winner, Best Narrative Short Animation <35 minutes, Intl Animation Festival;
    Winner, Best Canadian Short, Atlantic Film Festival;
    Winner, Best Animation Award, First Place, Intl Festival of Short Films;
    Winner, Digital Pictures Award for Best Animated Short, Worldwide Short Film Festival.




    THE TONTO WOMAN    Live-Action

    Director Daniel Barber, Producer Matthew Brown, UK, 200x, 34 minutes, in English.

    The flash-back story of a cattle rustler's encounter with a woman who has been ostracized and forced into solitude by society in the Old West after being held prisoner by Mojave Indians. Led by a fine performance from Francesco Quinn (Anthony's son) as Ruben Vega, and nice visuals, the film is adapted from a story written by Elmore Leonard.

    Directed by a Brit and shot in Spain, the story is simple: While preparing to steal a band of cattle, Vega sees a woman washing herself at her well. After she goes inside, he visits, and discovers that she has tattoos on her chin, after which she tells him to go away. He's intrigued and finds out more about her. She was kidnapped and held for eleven years by the Mohave, during which her husband searched for her - but couldn't look at her after he finally rescued her. Vega treats her with compassion and respect, thereby prompting her husband to rethink his rejection.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Live-Action Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Best in Fest Award, Los Angeles Shorts Fest;
    Best Short Film over 30 Minutes, Palm Springs International Shorts Fest.




    PETER & THE WOLF    Animation  OSCAR WINNER

    Director Suzie Templeton, Producer Hugh Welchman, UK/Poland/Norway, 2006, 27 minutes, no dialogue.

    This year's Oscar winner is based on the story set to music by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. Told without dialogue, the story is both familiar and magnificently new, with various changes to the original storyline - notably the empathy Peter, a loner, shares with the wolf, also a loner.

    In this updated animated adaptation of the classic fable, Peter and his grandfather live in a bleak, contemporary Russia, where gun-toting bullies prowl graffiti-daubed streets. The boy and old man live in poor circumstances on the edge of a small town next to a forest, where the Grandfather tries to prevent Peter from exploring the countryside with its dangerously inviting frozen lakes, giant gnarled oaks... and wolves.

    But Peter can't stay away from the forest and ends up battling and capturing a ferocious wolf that had eaten his pet duck. He and his grandfather take the wolf to town to sell it. But Peter foresees the fate of the captive wolf and decides to set it free.

    Directed by Britain's Suzie Templeton, whose award-winning short Dog was shown by Cincinnati World Cinema in 2002, this film was a true multinational production. The new stop-motion version of the story was co-produced by BreakThru Films in London and the Se-Ma-For studio in Poland. It took five years to make, involving more than a hundred British and Polish animators, craftsmen, sculptors and artists. Special effect shots were made at Storm Studio in Oslo.

    PRODUCTION NOTE:    The set created for the filming is probably the largest ever made for a stop-motion film. Wanting to capture the sense of space found in live-action films to the animated production, the team constructed a 70-foot forest set with 1,700 trees in order to convey the awe and wonder experienced when you go into a forest as a kid. To cement the flavor of modern Russia expressed in the film, director Suzie Templeton spent two weeks in Russia, visiting and photographing small towns and forests. She spent another two weeks studying and filming wolves at a sanctuary.

    The film received its North American premier on 25th July 2007 at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. This was a live performance accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra with an audience of approximately 9,000 people.

    You can watch the trailer here.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Winner, Best Animated Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Winner, Best European Film, Pulcinella Film Fest;
    Nominated, Best Short Animation, BAFTA, UK;
    Winner, Gran Prix, Annecy Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Audience Favorite Award, Annecy Film Festival, France;
    Winner, Performing Arts Rose D'Or;




    THE SUBSTITUTE (IL SUPPLENTE)    Live-Action

    Director Andrea Jublin, Italy, 2007, 16 minutes, in Italian with English subtitles.

    An Italian high school classroom gets a substitute teacher who insists on managing the students his own way, which is highly unconventional. Everyone knows that substitute teachers get no respect. So how do you whip a classroom of rowdy teens into shape? Sure, a firm hand helps, but don't forget about truly bizarre and demeaning behavior. Director Jublin does a good job of pulling the viewer into the story - what appears to be merely a broad farce has an interesting twist at the end.

    AWARDS
    Oscar Nomination, Best Live-Action Short Film, Academy Awards, USA;
    Best Comedy, Aspen ShortFest.




    OVER TIME    Animation Bonus Short

    Directors Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland and Damien Ferrie, France, 2004, 5 min, no dialogue.

    An incredibly moving and superbly executed tribute to Jim Henson, created as a thesis project by 3 students at the French Academy of Animation (SupinfoCom) at Arles.

    One evening, the Muppets find their creator slumped over his work bench. A group of his puppets surround him and, not suspecting a thing, carry him to bed. The next morning the house is abuzz with typical Muppet glee and manic energy. The puppeteer can't shave himself for some reason, so a handful of puppets do it for him. Then everyone adjourns to the living room for story time, and later, in the screening room the puppets don 3D glasses and run old home movies, with the Jim Henson propped up in the seat of honor.

    Then it's time to make dinner, as the cloth creatures don flamboyant chef's hats and do little dance routines shaking spoons like maracas. The dinner is a riot of thrown food, and one errant potato strikes the puppeteer in the head, making him face-plant his soup.

    Watching him as he refuses to budge, understanding dawns on the assembled group and they bow their heads in sorrow. They put him in his best suit and, joining him in one last waltzing swoop by puppeteering the puppeteer with sticks attached to his arms, they lay him down and close his eyes.

    It's a rare piece of computer animation that can fool the viewer for more than a few seconds into thinking a thing was photographed. The directors get their movements so fiendishly smooth and naturalistic that Over Time sustains that illusion for most of its five-minute running time. The amount of background detail is incredible and the film must be watched many times to appreciate every element. This short, small FILM CLIP will provide just a wee taste.

    AWARDS
    Best Graduate Film, Ottawa International Animation Festival



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