OSCAR SHORTS 2024

Three programs featuring the 2024 Oscar nominees for best Live Action, Documentary, and Animated short film. PLEASE NOTE: The suggested rating for the Animation and Live Action programs is R, due to adult themes and content. The suggested rating for the Documentary program is PG-13.

FEB 23 | FRI

Documentary: 4:50 p.m.
Animation: 7:30 p.m.

FEB 24 | SAT

Live Action: 11:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
Documentary: 2:10 p.m.
Animation: 4:50 p.m.

FEB 25 | SUN

Animation: 11:30 a.m., 7:30 p.m.
Live Action: 2:10 p.m.
Documentary: 4:50 p.m.

FEB 26 | MON

Live Action: 4:50 p.m.
Documentary: 7:30 p.m.

FEB 27 | TUE

Documentary: 4:50 p.m.
Animation: 7:30 p.m.

FEB 28 | WED

Live Action: 4:50 p.m.
Documentary: 7:30 p.m.

FEB 29 | THU

Animation: 4:50 p.m.
Live Action: 7:30 p.m.

SYNOPSIS

For the 19th consecutive year, ShortsTV and Magnolia Pictures present the Oscar-Nominated Short Films. With all three categories offered – Animated, Live Action and Documentary – this is your annual chance to predict the winners (and have the edge in your Oscar pool)! A perennial hit with audiences around the country and the world, don’t miss this year’s selection of shorts. The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 10th.

A FESTIVAL PASS, good for admission to all three programs, will be available at the Ross Box Office. PASS PRICES: $20 General Admission | $17 Students, Seniors, Military | $13 Friends of the Ross Members. 

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ANIMATED SHORTS

Suggested Rating: R | Estimated run time 80 minutes
The 2024 Animation Program is NOT suitable for children.
Topics addressed in this program include the Holocaust, violence, and inferred child abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.

OUR UNIFORM
d. Yegane Moghaddam, 7 min, Iran (Farsi with English Subtitles)
An Iranian girl unfolds her school memories on the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform.

LETTER TO A PIG
d. Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter, 17 min, France/Israel (Hebrew with English Subtitles)
A Holocaust survivor reads a letter he wrote to the pig who saved his life. A young schoolgirl hears his testimony in class and sinks into a twisted dream where she confronts questions of identity, collective trauma, and the extremes of human nature.

PACHYDERM
d. Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius, 11 min, USA (French with English Subtitles)
As every summer, Louise is entrusted to her grand-parents for a few days of vacation in the country. The green grass of the garden, the swimming in the lake, the fishing with Grandpa, everything seems as sweet as Grandma’s strawberry pies. Yet this year, the snow will fall in summer and a monster will die.

NINETY-FIVE SENSES
d. Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess, 13 min, USA
An ode to the body’s five senses delivered by a man with little time left to enjoy them.

WAR IS OVER! INSPIRED BY THE MUSIC OF JOHN & YOKO
d. Dave Mullins and Brad Booker, 11 min, USA
Set in an alternate WWI reality where a senseless war rages on, two soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict play a joyful game of chess. A heroic carrier pigeon delivers the soldiers’ chess moves over the battlefield as the fighting escalates.

ADDITIONAL FILMS INCLUDED IN THE ANIMATION PROGRAM:

I’M HIP
d. John Musker, 4 min, USA

WILD SUMMONS
d. Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, 14 min, UK

LIVE ACTION SHORTS

Suggested Rating: R | Estimated run time 2 hours, 20 minutes
Topics addressed in this program include murder, abortion, sexual abuse, and suicide. Viewer discretion is advised.

THE AFTER
d. Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham, 18 min, UK
A poweful and affecting story that follows Dayo (Oyelowo), a Londoner who has to reconnect with himself and society after witnessing a devastating random attack in the capital.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE
d. Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane, 23 min, USA
Rachel (Brittany Snow) is a single parent living paycheck to paycheck. When an unexpected pregnancy threatens to unravel her already precarious position, she’s forced to cross state lines in search of an abortion.

KNIGHT OF FORTUNE
d. Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk, 25 min, Denmark (Swedish/Danish with English Subtitles)
The loss of a loved one, the grief, the risk of yellow skin, and a coffin, that is too much for Karl to face.

INVINCIBLE
Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron, 29 min, Canada (French with English Subtitles)
Inspired by a true story, Invincible recounts the last 48 hours in the life of Marc-Antoine Bernier, a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest for freedom.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF HENRY SUGAR
d. Wes Anderson and Steven Rales, 37 min, US/UK
Chronicles a variety of stories, but the main one follows Henry Sugar, who is able to see through objects and predict the future with the help of a book he stole.

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

Suggested Rating: PG-13 | Estimated run time 2 hours, 20 minutes
Topics addressed in this program include aging, economic inequiality, Taiwanese independence, and book bans.

ISLAND IN BETWEEN
d. S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien, 20 min, Taiwan (English/Mandarin with English Subtitles)
From Taiwan’s frontline amid rising tensions with China, filmmaker S. Leo Chiang weaves lyrical glimpses of local life with his own struggle negotiating ambivalent bonds to Taiwan, China, and the US. ISLAND IN BETWEEN explores the uneasy peace in Taiwan, and contemplates its uncertain future.

NǍI NAI AND WÀI PÓ
d. Sean Wang and Sam Davis, 17 min, USA (Mandarin with English Subtitles)
Nǎi Nai is my grandma. Wài Pó is also my grandma. Together, they are a grandma super team that dances, stretches, and farts their sorrows away.

THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING
d. Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic, 27 min, USA
Over 2000 books have been removed from school districts in the U.S. THE ABCS OF BOOK BANNING follows the human toll the future will pay for depriving children of their right to read and learn about a complex world. Interviews with children and authors shed light on this ongoing dangerous precedent.

THE LAST REPAIR SHOP
d. Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers, 39 min, USA
Tells the story of four unassuming heroes who ensure no student is deprived of the joy of music. It is also a reminder of how music can be the best medicine, stress reliever and even an escape from poverty.

THE BARBER OF LITTLE ROCK
d. John Hoffman and Christine Turner, 35 min, USA
The Barber of Little Rock explores America’s widening racial wealth gap through the story of Arlo Washington, a local barber whose visionary approach to a just economy can be found in the mission of People Trust, the nonprofit community bank he founded.