It’s a great idea, so how about they screen the doccies as well
|||Diane de Beer
The Short Films in the Live Action category that will be screened are: Ave Maria; Day One; Shok (Friend); Stutterer; and Alles Wird Gut (Everything Will Be Okay). The programme runs for about 100 minutes.
The short film nominees are fascinating to watch for many reasons. First, it’s the topics, even though five nominees are a small sample. Still, three films deal with war and the different factions. There’s the religious war between an Israeli settler family crashing almost literally into a group of Palestinian nuns living in the West Bank; in Kosovo it is the friction between friends as a result of the fighting; and based on a true story, the backdrop is that of Americans fighting abroad in a foreign environment, battling a foreign culture and foreign language, among other things. Sound familiar?
The final two films deal with social issues; divorce and the way the warring factions turn to and on the child to fight their spouse; and the limitations of disabled people who don’t only have to struggle with their own physical shortcomings, but also with the stupidity of a society that doesn’t care enough to avoid further pitfalls.
The stories are a testament to the worrying state of the world we live in. Short films, like short stories, have a limited time to make their point and leave an impression. Usually with the Oscars, we see the winners in this category, but seldom do we hear anything again.
This is an amazing chance to see these nominations, pick a winner and be more involved as the Oscars are announced. It also offers a benchmark for our own short-film makers. I know my winner. Go and pick yours. It’s great to see not only the winning films but those accomplishments on the sidelines. Why not see more? Wouldn’t the doccies be another must-see?