87th Academy Awards Live Action Short Film Shortlist

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that ten (10) live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 87th Academy Awards. One hundred forty-one (141) pictures had originally qualified in the category.

איה‎ Aya, Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis, France and Israel, 40'
Baghdad Messi, Sahim Omar Kalifa, UAE and Belgium, 19'
Boogaloo and Graham, Michael Lennox, UK, 14'
Chofesh Gadol (Summer Vacation), Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon, Israel, 22'
La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak (Butter Lampe), Hu Wei, France and China, 15'
Carry On, Yatao Li, USA and China, 17'
Xe tải của bố (My Father's Truck), Maurício Osaki, Brazil, 15'
Parvaneh, Talkhon Hamzavi, Switzerland, 25'
The Phone Call, Mat Kirkby, UK, 20'
SLR, Stephen Fingleton, UK and Ireland, 22'

Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select three to five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist. Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco in December. The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Interesting is to realize that almost all short films are from non-America filmmakers and money. If we recall what we learn from film fests then we know that short films competitions always show films by filmmakers of the future; so does this means that in live action (long for is movies) short film category the filmmakers of the future come from many countries that are not the USA. Unfortunately we know that in Oscar that is not totally true. Sigh.

Check below info, trailer or film stills for each of the shortlisted short films.

איה‎ Aya by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
This gorgeous and poignant drama about two strangers who meet by chance encounter at the airport features sublime performances by Sarah Adler (Jellyfish) and Danish star Ulrich Thomsen (star of the Oscar winning film In a Better World). When Thomas Overby mistakenly believes Aya is his assigned driver, she spontaneously decides to go along with the charade and drives him to Jerusalem. A stiff and guarded pianist, Overby is intrigued by the impulsive though melancholy Aya. As they slowly begin to connect, the film takes us on a journey we hope will never end



Baghdad Messi by Sahim Omar Kalifa
Iraq, 2009. Little Hamoudi (10) is totally obsessed with football. Just like the rest of the world, he and his friends are eagerly looking forward to the Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United - the long awaited clash between Messi and Ronaldo. But then Hamoudi’s television breaks down...



Boogaloo and Graham by Michael Lennox
Jamesy and Malachy are over the moon when their soft-hearted dad presents them with two baby chicks to care for. Raising their tiny charges, declaring themselves vegetarian and dreaming of running a chicken farm, the two boys are in for a shock when their parents announce that big changes are coming to the family.



Chofesh Gadol (Summer Vacation) by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon
Sea, sun, island, a family on vacation. And all Yuval wants is to get the heck out of there. On vacation with his wife and kids at the beach, Yuval finds himself saved from the waves by an old fling - a handsome man named Iftack from his days of being bisexual. Torn between his past and present, Yuval soon finds himself drawn to his old flame.




La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak (Butter Lampe) by Hu Wei
A young photographer and his assistant suggest to Tibetan nomads to take their picture. Against diverse and more or less exotic backgrounds, families appear to the photographer. Through these shots, the photographer will weave unique links with each of the various villagers.



Carry On by Yatao Li
Carry On tells a story set in Japan-occupied China during World War II. In 1944, the tide turned against Japan and the war began winding down. Prior to their retreat, Japanese troops looted every Chinese village in their path. They took only food and women from these villages followed by massacring all others and burning everything to the ground. To save his daughter, a Chinese father in my film stuffs her into a large bag disguised as food. As he loads the bag onto the back of a truck along with other bags with food, a Japanese army officer spots his secret. But, surprisingly, moved by the Chinese father's love and courage the officer plays along and lets the daughter go.




Xe tải của bố (My Father's Truck)by Maurício Osaki
My Father's Truck is part coming of age part road film revolving around the day when 10-year-old North Vietnamese Mai Vy skips school to help her father with his passenger truck for hire. Its only outside the classroom her eyes are open to shades of morality as she learns the way things really are in the world.



Parvaneh by Talkhon Hamzavi
Parvaneh, a young Afghan immigrant, lives in a transit centre for asylum in the Swiss mountains. Upon hearing of her father’s illness, she travels for the first time to Zurich in order to send her family money. This is the starting point of various encounters



The Phone Call by Mat Kirkby
Heather is a shy lady who works in a helpline call centre. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man, she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever. Starring Sally Hawkins.



SLR by Stephen Fingleton
A man obsessed with voyeur pornography makes a shocking discovery, forcing him onto the trail of an anonymous photographer known by his online username ANORAK.