By: Christopher James
Yes, we agree that this should be known as the 2021 Oscars (film year). However, Shorts TV has a different stance on their naming convention.Anyone who has filled out an Oscar office pool knows that the shorts can make or break your chances at winning. Often, the short films nominated are little seen, unless they play before a Pixar film. Thanks to Shorts TV, the nominees for Documentary (Short Subject), Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film play in theaters and are available for rental ahead of the Oscars. Watching the short film can not only help you win your Oscar pool, but it can also introduce you to new and exciting filmmakers.
This year’s nominees break some conventions, while also keeping to some of the tropes one expects. The live action short films, once again, are aggressively depressing. Meanwhile, the animated short films are decidedly not kid friendly (adhere to the warning label, most of the shorts are firmly R-rated). Still, the fifteen nominated films were on the whole enjoyable.
So what were the best shorts of the bunch? Which will win the Oscar? Read to find out...
Documentary (Short Subject)
Audible (Nominees: Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean)
Everyone loves a good sports story, though often it comes from rooting for the underdog. Audible highlights a particularly interesting case of juggernaut football players. The Maryland School for the Deaf has a championship winning high school football team that almost went undefeated in a season. What starts as a portrait of senior Amaree McKenstry-Hall’s impressive strength on the field turns into something more moving and powerful. A close friend and former classmate of Amaree commits suicide during the season after he transferred to a mainstream (aka hearing) high school. Audible works best when it shows Amaree and his friends process their grief and how it affects their different high school dynamics. Its raw emotions are only further highlighted by really strong cinematography during football scenes and impressive sound design. B+
Audible is available on Netflix.
Lead Me Home (Nominees: Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk)
Across the country, houselessness has become a growing issue that no one seems to solve. Economic hardships, coupled with the pandemic, has caused a rise in the houseless population, while many have voted against low income housing options within their neighborhood. Lead Me Home focuses the conversation around Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, interviewing specific people who are living without homes. It’s an emotional watch, but doesn’t provide much new information. The issue is so large and complex, it would’ve been more effective had the documentary zeroed in on a couple of systemic issues that need fixing, rather than try and formulate an answer to the big question: how do we get out of this crisis? B
Lead Me Home is available on Netflix.
The Queen of Basketball (Nominee: Ben Proudfoot)
How many people know who the first and only woman to be drafted to the NBA is? The Queen of Basketball documentary spotlights Lucia “Lucy” Harris Stewart, a woman from rural Mississippi who led her college to three national trophies, played in the 1976 Olympics and was drafted to the NBA. She walked away from it all to get married and be a mother. First things first, Lucy Harris is a great documentary subject. She’s incredibly charming, effusive and open. It’s really interesting hearing her experience in women’s basketball and how she broke down gender and racial boundaries in the sport. The short was directed by Ben Proudfoot who was previously nominated for A Concerto is a Conversation. This short is similarly inspiring and reverent, without ever feeling too light or too much like homework. As engaging as Lucy is, it would’ve been great to hear from more voices talking about her legacy or demonstrating how her career paved the way for them. Right now, it feels like an interesting stream of consciousness, but not polished or dynamic enough to be a groundbreaking documentary. B-
The Queen of Basketball is available at The New York Times YouTube channel.
Three Songs for Benazir (Nominee: Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei)
This short focuses on Shaista, the new husband to Benazir who lives with her family in a community of displaced people in Kabul. In order to support his family, he looks into joining the Afghan National Army (a first for his tribe), but this would involve leaving Benazir and his duty of being there for his family. The choice makes for a compelling watch, particularly in the final coda. These first person features are great ways to personalize the political struggles in other countries. Unfortunately, it’s not as dynamic of a watch as some of the other nominees in the category. C+
Three Songs for Benazir is available on Netflix.
When We Were Bullies (Nominee: Jay Rosenblatt)
Filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt was looking back at his grade school experience, only to come upon a moment showing him bully another kid. This leads him down a rabbit hole reconnecting with old classmates and teachers as he relitigates this bullying moment from 50 years ago. Rosenblatt’s trends an interesting line between remorse and nostalgia, all while still having some fun with the subject as he reconnects with old classmates. The end result is an interesting documentary that feels slight almost by definition. It makes one recall their own pecking order in grade school - were you the bully or the bullied? While engaging, it’s ultimate point isn’t satisfying enough, especially when stacked up with some of the more serious topics in the category. C+
When We Were Bullies will be available on HBO Max on March 30th.
Will Win: Audible
Should Win: Audible
Potential Spoiler: The Queen of Basketball
Short Film (Animated)
Affairs of the Art (Nominees: Joanna Quinn and Les Mills)
Would I want to hang out with Beryl and Beverly? Absolutely. Affairs of the Art jumps in a lot of different places, just as our subject Beryl sometimes gets lost in a story within a story. Director Joanna Quinn spotlights the working class Welsh spitfire, Beryl, as she embarks on a new obsession with art. As she explains her new obsession, she continues to remember eccentric hobbies of her sister, Beverly as a kid. The hand-drawn animation in Affairs of the Art is decidedly sketchy. It’s almost as if you can feel Beryl frantically doodling the images in real time. So many moments in the short provoked belly laughs, such as a nude Beryl trying to “make her mark” on her new painting. It’s an odd film, but the characters and their eccentricities are hard not to fall for. B
Bestia (Nominees: Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Diaz)
One thing is for sure, Bestia will stay in your head long after you watch it. The short film by Hugo Covarrubias acts as a piece about Íngrid Olderöck, a police major during the Chilean military dictatorship who was responsible for many acts of torture. This is more than just a biopic. It’s a strange trip into the dark recesses of the mind of this woman accused of multiple human rights violations. The short doesn’t do much to explain the context behind the true story. Instead, it’s a shocking and graphic look at this woman, her dog and the warped parts of her brain. It often feels like shock for shock’s sake. Perhaps for those more familiar with the story of Olderöck, there is something cathartic about where the short goes. In terms of animation, the use of stop motion is certainly unique and unforgettable. In the service of telling a story, Bestia is lacking. C
Boxballet (Nominee: Anton Dyakov)
The trope of a beautiful woman falling in love with a beastly, yet sensitive, man has been done so many times already. Though the Russian short Boxballet wins no points for The animation style recalls the beautiful grotesque nature of The Triplets of Bellevue. Every body characteristic is exaggerated to a comical degree. It’s a delight to see how each background character has unique characteristics, which makes the world feel particularly vibrant and lived in. The story itself, unfortunately, is a bit more rote and built around a strange, gruff “nice guy” trope. Why doesn’t our ballerina realize the large, beat up boxer is a nice guy? Problems aside, it’s hard not to marvel and wince at the animation. C+
Robin Robin (Nominee: Dan Ojari and Mikey Please)
Netflix’s star studded short is the only child friendly offering in the bunch. Being familiar, yet different from the competition, could help propel it to a win here. It also helps that the short is legitimately winning, even if it is far from groundbreaking. One evening, a robin egg rolls into the home of a family of scavenging mice. The mice raise the robin as their own, the only problem is Robin the robin is terrible at stealing food from “who-mans” homes. The stop motion animation gives the characters a felt-like texture that looks wonderful and gives the short a homemade feel, even if it likely is the most expensive of the bunch. Winning voice performances, namely from stars Richard E. Grant as an obsessive raven named Magpie and Gillian Anderson as a sinister kitty. Even for a short, the story is a bit long-in-the-tooth, especially when you know where it’s going. Still, its charms cannot be denied, even if it can be quibbled with. B-
Robin Robin is available on Netflix.
The Windshield Wiper (Nominee: Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez)
“What is love?” flashes upon the screen in the first minute of The Windshield Wiper, as a man smokes profusely in a cafe. A series of mini “scenes” play out in montage format, though they have very little in the way of narrative. The Windshield Wiper has a unique style of animation, resembling the photorealistic rotoscope of A Scanner Darkly caught up with modern video game technology. The Waltz with Bashir director Alberto Mielgo did a great job creating a palpable aesthetic. Unfortunately, that is all there is. This pontification about love builds to a hollow answer. What did we watch and why did we watch it? The Windshield Wiper amounts to many pretty images, all signifying nothing. D
Will Win: Robin Robin
Should Win: Affairs of the Art
Potential Spoiler: Affairs of the Art
Short Film (Live Action)
Ala Kachuu - Take and Run (Nominees: Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger)
As always, the live action short films are the most depressing singular group of films. This year is no exception. Still, Ala Kachuu - Take and Run manages to be the most engaging and harrowing of the bunch, which is no small feat. The short starts simple enough. Sezim (Alina Turdumamatova) wants to go to school rather than marry. She runs away from home and quickly establishes herself in the Kyrgyz capital, thanks to her friend Aksana (Madina Talipbekova). So far, the short feels like a charming, Lady Bird-esque story of a feuding mother-daughter relationship, as the daughter learns to spread her wings. Then Sezim is kidnapped and put into a forced marriage. Remember, no one can be too happy in a live action short. Writer-director Maria Brendle manages this transition well, turning Sazim’s story into a thriller, as she tries to find her way out of this captive marriage. B+
The Dress (Nominees: Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki)
Once again, we can’t have nice things. The Dress focuses on Julka (Anna Dzieduszycka), a little person who works as a maid and seems stuck in a depressive rut. She smokes incessantly and spends her time either working or playing slots at a bar. One night, she meets a handsome man named Bogdan (Szymon Piotr Warszawski) who hits on her, igniting a sexual awakening for Julia. She enlists her friend Renata (Dorota Pomykala) to get her a dress for her date. Anna Dzieduszycka is sensational as Julka, perfectly taking us through her interior journey of longing. One can’t help but root for her Cinderella moment. Unfortunately, the final minutes of The Dress undermine what was interesting and engaging about the short. Julka is date raped by Bogdan. The film just ends shortly after that, essentially asserting that yes, things can get worse for Julka. Why invest us in this character if she exists only to be punished? C-
The Long Goodbye (Nominee: Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed)
Things seem so normal at the beginning of The Long Goodbye. Riz (Riz Ahmed) is playing with one of the young members of his family. The women of the family are upstairs helping a bride get ready for her wedding day. There’s lots of exciting hubbub. In an instant, excitement makes a hairpin turn into fear when Riz notices people being beat up down the street. It turns out there is a far right march happening and it is descending upon his family. What follows is a harrowing and grueling depiction of how hate can be sanctioned and ruin so many lives. A final, direct-to-camera rap performed by Ahmed is emotionally resonant, if a bit on the nose. It directly recalls how Blindspotting used direct addresses to the audience. The starpower behind The Long Goodbye puts it out in front of the competition. Luckily, it is good enough to be a worthy winner. B
The Long Goodbye is available on Riz Ahmed’s YouTube channel.
On My Mind (Nominee: Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson)
There’s always at least one head-scratching nominee in a short category. On My Mind fits the bill for this year. Henrik (Rasmus Hammerich) shows up at an empty bar and asks to be videotaped singing the song “Always on my Mind” on karaoke. For some reason, the sleepy bar finds this request to be beyond the pale, as the owner and bartender argue over whether they’ll let him sing or not. Eventually he sings and you realize he’s doing it to play for his comatose wife so it’s the last thing she’ll hear as they unplug her. Yep, live action shorts do not keep it light. There’s little conflict or drama to the story, and the emotional twist can be seen coming a mile away. D+
Please Hold (Nominee: K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse)
Set in the near future, Mateo (Erick Lopez) is going about his day like normal until he is arrested by a drone. When in prison, he learns that everything has a price, including the right to sleep without the lights on. The short is pretty clear with its targets - the broken justice system and racism in law enforcement and prisons. Meanwhile, the privatization of prisons could lead to this sort of “for-profit” prison making money off these “micro-transactions.” A bit of humor goes a long way in selling the concept behind writer-director K.D. Dávila’s short. Plus, the editing of Please Hold enhances the futility and frustration of our protagonist. Still, Please Hold often comes off as a Black Mirror episode that couldn’t quite fill the hour. B-
Will Win: The Long Goodbye
Should Win: Ala Kachuu: Take and Run
Potential Spoiler: The Dress
All of the Shorts nominees are currently playing in theaters and will be available to rent on March 22nd.
What have been your favorite shorts this past year? Which do you think will win the Oscar?