Oscar’s Short
In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the titles advancing to nomination voting 10 will be whittled down to five nominees by the Short Films and
Fine Arts Qualifying Win: Student Academy Award (Gold Medal: Animation, International) Official Selections: DC Shorts Film Festival, San Francisco Int’l Film Festival, Spike & Mike’s, Sundance Film Festival, Zlin Film Festival Synopsis: It’s the revenge of the smartphone zombies in this darkly comic, refreshingly cartoon-y short that explores device distraction accidents. The digital obsession is highlighted by blank textured backgrounds filled only by the objects and people in each character’s immediate personal bubble. vimeo.com/user48417496 Daniel Agdag, director & Liz Kearney, producer Produced By: 8th in Line (Australia) Qualifying Win: Sydney Film Festival (Yoram Gross Animation Award) Awards: AACTA Award, Dendy Awards, Melbourne Int’l Film Festival Synopsis: Agdag’s meticulously hand-crafted cardboard world revolves around a thorough and practical man named Ed who manages the Lost Property Office. When Ed realizes he’s been made redundant, he decides to re-appropriate his cherished lost objects and bid his basement post a whimsical farewell. Lostpropertyoffice.com.au Dave Mullins, director & Dana Murray, producer Produced By: Pixar Animation Studios Qualifying Release: Theatrical, with Cars 3 Official Selections: San Francisco Int’l Film Festival, SXSW Synopsis: Lou is a collaged creature made up of unclaimed items in a school’s Lost and Found box who collects left-behind objects after recess each day. When a bully starts taking other kids’ toys, Lou leaps to their defense – but discovers compassion is better than punishment. Composer Christophe Beck ( Trolls, Frozen) composed the score. pixar.com/lou Ru Kuwahata & Max Porter, directors Produced By: IKKI Films (France) Qualifying Win: Anima Mundi (Grand Prix) Awards: 3D Wire, Anima Cordoba, Annecy Int’l Animated Film Festival, Busho Film Festival, Encounters Film Festival, KROK Animation Festival, Pixelatl, Turku Animated Film Festival, et al. Synopsis: A dad who is always heading out the door for a business trip teaches his son how to pack a suitcase in this bittersweet, meditative blend of stop-motion and CG animation, adapted from Ron Koertge’s original poem. The directors sought out visceral, tactile materials to key into their childhood memories of sight, sound and touch. ikkifilms.com Jakob Schuh & Jan Lachauer, directors Produced By: Magic Light Pictures Qualifying Release: Theatrical run Awards: Annecy Int’l Animated Film Festival, BAFTA Children’s Award, Shanghai Int’l Film and TV Festival, Banff World Media Festival Synopsis: A two-part spoofy special which takes beloved author Roald Dahl’s rhyming reinventions of classic fairytales and reinterprets the classic Quentin Blake illustrations into peppy, charming CG animation. The BBC TV movie features the voices of Rob Brydon, Bertie Carvel, Gemma Chan, Tamsin Greig, David Walliams, Rose Leslie and more. magiclightpictures.com | triggerfishstudios.com The 90th Oscars will be held March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, broadcast live on ABC U.S. and more than 225 territories worldwide. More info at oscar.go.com.