Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts to be screened in LA & NYC
With the Oscar awards nominees announced and the awards ceremony set for February 2011, the nominees for Best Animated Short are being screen in both Los Angeles and New York City early this month with release on iTunes and Movies On Demand later the same month. On February 11, the nominated shorts will be screened at the Landmark’s Nuart Theatre in West Los Angeles, Regency Theatres’ South Coast Plaza in Santa Ana and at New York’s IFC Center. In addition to the five animated shorts nominated, distributor Shorts International will also be including two bonus films which are highly commended — “The Cow That Wanted To Be A Hamburger” and “Urs”. The total running length will be 85 minutes, and all content is unrated. See a trailer for the full slate of Oscar Nominated Shorts (Animation, Live-Action & Documentary) at this link.
Here’s the late of nominees and the two bonus films, along with cast, crew and trailers.
Day & Night (trailer)
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 6 minutes
Writer/Director: Teddy Newton
Producer: Kevin Reher
Synopsis: When Day, a sunny fellow, encounters Night, a stranger of distinctly darker moods, sparks fly! Day and Night are frightened and suspicious of each other at first, and quickly get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other’s unique qualities – and come to realize that each of them offers a different window onto the same world – the friendship helps both to gain a new perspective.
The Gruffalo (trailer)
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 27 minutes
Writers: Julia Donaldson, Max Lang, Jakob Schuh
Director: Jakob Schuh, Max Lang,
Producer: Michael Rose, Martin Pope
Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson
Synopsis: The magical tale of a mouse who takes a walk through the woods in search of a nut. Encountering three predators who all wish to eat him a fox, an owl and a snake the plucky mouse has to use his wits to survive, creating an imaginary monster who then turns out to be only too real.
Let’s Pollute (trailer)
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 6 minutes
Writer/Director: Geefwee Boedoe
Producer: Geefwee Boedoe
Cast: Jim Thornton
Synopsis: In the spirit of 50’s & 60’s educational films, ‘Let’s Pollute’ is a modern satire on how pollution is our heritage and keeps our economy growing strong, while instructing us how to be better polluters for a better blighted tomorrow.
The Lost Thing (trailer)
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 15 minutes
Writers/Directors: Andrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan
Producer: Sophie Byrne
Cast: Tim Minchin
Synopsis: A boy discovers a bizarre looking creature while out collecting bottle tops at the beach. Realizing it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but is met with indifference from everyone else, who barely notice its presence, each unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to their day to day lives. For reasons he does not explain, the boy empathizes with the creature, and sets out to find a ‘place’ for it.
Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage (trailer)
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 11 minutes
Language: French with English Subtitles
Writers/Director: Bastien Dubois
Producers: Ron Dyens, Aurélia Prévieu
Synopsis: This film is a journey diary that redraws the trip of a european traveller confronted with Famadihana customs. As pages of a diary turn, colorful pencil sketches come to life, revealing the majestic rolling landscapes of Madagascar, and acquainting the audience to the people of the Malagasy culture.
The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 6 minutes
Writer/Director: Bill Plympton
Producer: Biljana Labovic
Synopsis: This is a children’s fable about the power of advertising, the meaning of life, and ultimately the test of a mother’s life.
Urs
Distributor: Shorts International
Running Time: 10 minutes
Writer/Director: Moritz Mayerhofer
Producer: Stina McNicholas
Synopsis: For many years Urs has had to look after his aging mother. But now he sets out for a dangerous journey: He carries his mother up a mountain to find a better place for both of them. But she wants to stay at home.