Starting February 14, the 20th annual Oscar Nominated Short Films will be available in theaters. This is the only opportunity for audiences to watch all of the short film nominees in theaters before the 97th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2, 2024. To learn more about the participating theaters and how to purchase tickets which are now available, please visit www.shorts.tv/theoscarshorts. Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Live Action, Animation, or Documentary.
Buy Against the Wall: My Journey from Border Patrol Agent to Immigrant Rights ActivistThe nominees are:
Anuja (director Adam J. Graves; United States; 22 min)
Two orphaned sisters in India work in sewing sweat shop. Anuja (Sajda Pathan), the youngest one, is a math prodigy and has an opportunity for a scholarship to a boarding school. Needing the money to take the test, they sell colorful bags to raise the fee. Learning of her skill, the shop boss offers Anuja an office job, but she has to skip test or she and her sister are both out of a job. Her sister wants her to take the test, but Anuja seems to make a third choice of her own, but there’s no resolution to what that means for the sisters. In the end credits, audience learns Sadja is a working child of the streets like her character, then see her watch the movie, all of which seems could unfairly manipulate Oscar voters.
I‘m Not a Robot (director Victoria Warmerdam; Belgium, Netherlands; 22 min)
At work, Lara has trouble getting passed Captcha. An IT worker asks if she might be a robot, which confounds her. She takes an online questionnaire that leads her to question her existence. There’s a good plot twist and interesting dynamics at play between Lara and her boyfriend, but there wasn’t enough time to explore the ideas the film raises. And not sure what the ending says.
The Last Ranger (director Cindy Lee; South Africa; 28 min)
Covid has impacted the wilds of South Africa. Young Litha’s father is desperate for work as the lodges no longer house many tourists for him to sell his carvings. Litha rides with Game Reserve Ranger Khusi to look at animals. As they stop to marvel at rhinos, armed poachers hit one with a drug dart. The story takes a compelling, dramatic turn. Made to raise awareness about poaching, The Last Ranger is based what happened to a rhino who appears in the film.
A Lien (director David and Sam Cutler-Kreutz; United States; 15 min)
A family of mixed citizenship applies for the father’s green-card at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, as people are plucked from the waiting room, it appears to be a sting used by ICE to find undocumented immigrants, which is the film claims is an actual practice. The story is presented from the perspective of the family being torn apart as they deal with indifferent officials just doing their job.
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (director Nebojša Slijepčević; Croatia; 13 min)
A train stops and an armed militia requests passengers’ IDs. Milan doesn’t have any papers, but Dragan tells him not to worry. When an armed man comes to the car, Dragan is not as brave as he presented, but another man is, questioning their authority. He is retired military and speaks up for Milan. He requests to see the commander of this operation. Shortly thereafter, the train leaves without the man on it. The film is dedicated to the memory of Tomo Buzov. The film makes no mention of who he is or what happened, leaving it up to the curious viewer to learn more.
All but I’m Not a Robot are advocacy films dealing with ethical issues, and Robot may soon be if AI keeps heading the direction it is in. They all present their subjects in intriguing ways. The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent would get my vote as it does the best job telling of a situation that anyone could, or may already have, found themselves in regarding fear and bravery, and Buzov’s story deserves greater recognition. Due to what is happening in the United States under the current administration, A Lien deals with an issue of the moment that I would guess many Academy voters would like to draw attention.
