Movie award season has descended upon us and if there is one thing this time of year is known for (besides shameless self-promotion) it is parties. Every year, The Prytania Theatre hosts one of the best local Oscar celebrations all month long leading up to the big night (Sunday, February 26).
Starting this weekend, The Prytania, co-presented by the New Orleans Film Society, is giving you the chance to get caught up on filling out your Oscar ballot, including those pesky little short films that are harder to see than the features film nominees. On Friday, The Prytania kicks off their Month of Oscars series with a special presentation of all this year’s nominated short films – animated, live action, and documentary – and then the theatre moves into some of the feature length films.
Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films:
Dimanche (Dir. Patrick Doyon)
A boy finds entertainment in elongating coins on a train track during a visit to his grandparents house after church. (9 min.)
A Canadian short that was also nominated for an Annie Award.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore (Dir. William Joyce & Brandon Oldenburg)
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, the film is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. (15 min.)
From Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, LA.
La Luna (Dir. Enrico Casarosa)
Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are 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. (7 min.)
From Pixar Studios, who had a film nominated in this category most years since its first nomination and win in 1989 for Tin Toy, the studio’s precursor to the feature length Toy Story.
A Morning Stroll (Dir. Grant Orchard & Sue Goffe)
When a New Yorker walks past a chicken on his morning stroll, we are left to wonder which one is the real city slicker. (7 min.)
The film is loosely based on an event in True Tales of American Life by American author Paul Auster.
Wild Life (Dir. Amanda Forbis & 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. (14 min.)
The filmmakers were also nominated for their 1999 animated short When the Day Breaks.
This year’s Oscar-Nominated Animated Short Films will screen at The Prytania Theatre starting Friday, February 10 all together as one presentation with several showtimes daily – Noon, 4:00, and 8:00 pm.
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Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films:
Pentecost (Dir. Peter McDonald)
Ireland 1977. Eleven-year-old Damian Lynch is called in at the last moment to serve as an altar boy at an important mass in his local parish. Following his last appearance as an altar boy when he knocked Father O'Toole off the altar, Damien is serving a 3 month ban from his only passion in life...football. Damien now faces a choice: either conform to the status quo or never watch his beloved Liverpool play again. (11 min.)
Raju (Dir. Max Zähle)
A German couple adopts in Kolkata an Indian orphan. Their child suddenly disappears and they realize that they are part of the problem. (24 min.)
The Shore (Dir. Terry George)
The film follows two boyhood best friends who are reunited after a 25 year division created by a misunderstanding from the days of the Northern Ireland Troubles. (29 min.)
Time Freak (Dir. Andrew Bowler)
A neurotic inventor creates a time machine and gets lost traveling around yesterday. (10 min.)
Tuba Atlantic (Dir. Hallvar Witzø)
Everybody is going to die one day. Oskar is 70 and is going to die in 6 days. He is now ready to forgive his brother for a disagreement years ago. Will he reach his brother, who he believes live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, before it is too late?
This year’s Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films will screen at The Prytania Theatre starting Friday, February 10 all together as one presentation with several showtimes daily – 2:00, 6:00, and 10:00 pm.
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Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films:
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (Dir. Gail Dolgin & Robin Fryday)
The film features 85-year-old Mr. Armstrong, an African American barber in Birmingham, Alabama, as he experiences the manifestation of an unimaginable dream: the election of the first African American president. This colorful and courageous activist of the Civil Rights era casts his vote, celebrates Obama's victory and proudly unfurls the American flag as he is inducted into the Foot Soldiers Hall of Fame. (25 min.)
Incident in New Baghdad (Dir. James Spione)
U.S. Army veteran Ethan McCord recounts his life-changing experiences at the scene of one of the most notorious events of the Iraq War: the slaying of two Reuters journalists, along with a group of mostly unarmed men, on the streets of Baghdad by American attack helicopters in July 2007.
Saving Face (Dir. Daniel Junge)
Every year hundreds of people – mostly women – are attacked with acid in Pakistan. This film follows several of these survivors, their fight for justice, and a Pakistani plastic surgeon who has returned to his homeland to help them restore their faces and their lives.
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (Dir. Lucy Walker)
Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan's recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins.
This year’s Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films will screen at The Prytania Theatre starting Thursday, FEB 9 and Wednesday, FEB 15 all together as one presentation at 8:00 pm.
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The Prytania Theatre has already screened many of the Best Picture Oscar nominees from this year – The Artist, Moneyball, Hugo, and others. But after the Shorts Program closes, The Prytania will begin showing some of the Oscar nominated films on a limited basis.
The Iron Lady (Feb 17)
A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power.
Oscar Nominations: Best Actress (Merryl Streep), Best Makeup
The Descendants (Feb 24)
A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident.
Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Payne), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (George Clooney), Best Editing
Pina (March 2)
An awe-inspiring 3-D tribute to choreographer Pina Bausch.
Oscar Nominations: Best Documentary
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And finally, all this Oscar hullabaloo wraps up on Sunday, February 26 with the telecast of the Academy Awards ceremony, which will be shown live inside The Prytania Theatre as part of the annual Academy Awards Party, co-hosted by the New Orleans Film Society.
Walk the red carpet in your finest glam garb – or come dressed as a character from your favorite nominated film (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo anyone? Or how about wearing a Bridesmaids dress? Or a The Descendants Hawaiian shirt? Or even an Oakland A’s jersey from Moneyball?).
Doors open at 6:00 pm and the show starts at 7:00 pm.
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