Sunday Short(s): A few films that we might see on the finalist list

by Nathaniel R

We've been meaning to launch a small but sweet "short" series for a long time. But alas, despite the tiny nature of the beast, we haven't. On December 21st, we'll hear which 30 eligible shorts Oscar voters favor across the Documentary, Animated and Live-Action flavors and we'll have a good excuse to dig in a bit more. With all golden categories back on the broadcast for the 95th Oscars (yay!) we should highlight the three miniature categories in someway!

Sadly, the Academy has gotten less transparent over the past handful of years. They no longer release their eligibility lists in the shorts categories. We are sometimes able to get approximations of the lists from various sources but it's not the same thing as having an "official" list. Nevertheless we believe the following five shorts are eligible and we've seen them so let's briefly discuss...

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Oscar Race: Live Action Short Finalists Reviewed

by Nathaniel R

As we did with the Documentary shorts finalists, we're reviewing the Oscar possibilities in Live Action short. Unfortunately this group is harder for audiences to see (at this writing) so we don't have screening links for all of them. We've been unable to track down Two Distant Strangers but let's discuss the other nine options, divvied up into four 'types'...

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Interview: Emil Gallardo on his Oscar Hopeful Short "1,2,3, All Eyes on Me"

by Nathaniel R

In November this year a few of us here at The Film Experience had the pleasure of attending the HollyShorts festival virtually. Shorts festivals are a great way to catch exciting talent on the rise. My favourite of the shorts I screened was a drama on the very tough topic of school shootings called 1,2,3, All Eyes on Me by debut filmmaker Emil Gallardo. Gallardo won the top prize at HollyShorts and with it Oscar consideration, attention from managers, and a HBO Directing Fellowship. He's also working on a feature now with his writing partner Derek Ho.

But success wasn't as instant as it sounds. He worked for years as a Production Assistant and Assistant Director starting in the Aughts before opting for film school himself. He humorously compares himself to a fish and the set to a fish bowl; if he's not there he's just squriming around -- Plop him back in! But making a film is never an easy swim. "I literally had pneumonia," he says recalling post-production. "I dragged myself out of bed to meet the Sundance deadline only to get rejected. But I wasn't going to miss the deadline!"

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