HollyShorts 3. The 2020 Oscar-Qualifying Winners

by Nathaniel R

This is the first year The Film Experience has covered the HollyShorts Film Festival. We intended to do more but you know how it is with time. It flies! For the final piece, I thought I'd review a few of the winners. The Complete Winners List from the festival is presented in alphabetical order with capsule reviews of three Oscar qualifiers and a few more for good measure...

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HollyShorts 2 "Wonder Years"

by Tony Ruggio

Short films are the runt of the film community: small, sometimes slight, often ignored. They’re everything in film school and seemingly nothing on Oscar night, relegated so much to the fringes of discourse that some have suggested nixing them from the broadcast completely. But short films hold a special place in Hollywood’s machine, be it a training ground for future blockbuster directors or fresh voices in the constantly evolving indie scene.

The HollyShorts festival has several compilations. Ben covered the "Action" efforts so I hit "The Wonder Years," covering films set in high school or otherwise coming-of-age stories. Here are three that I think are worth a watch, whether due to their surprisingly famous cast or sheer quality...

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HollyShorts 1 "Action Packed"

HollyShorts, now in its 16th year, is an Oscar-Qualifying festival. Even better, it's a festival that's specifically devoted to short films so it's quite the showcase for its official selections. Team Experience thought we'd look at some of the films for you. Perhaps they'll pop up later in Oscar longslists or even as nominees!?

by Ben Miller

When it comes to action films, short form might be an ideal medium to take it all in.  The 16th annual HollyShorts Film Festival showcased their action block this week and proved that to be the case. A quick disclaimer, though: the term “action” is pretty broadly deployed here.  Of the eight films showcased, I would classify three as actual action movies, but we’ll go with it.

The reviews are presented alphabetically...

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Showbiz History: Horny Pussycats, Photoshopped Gosling, and Julie's Second Marriage

9 random things that happened on this day, November 12th, in showbiz history...

1880 Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is published. It was  the best-selling American novel of all time (for awhile). The film adaptation in 1959 won 11 Oscars, a feat that's never been bested though Titanic and Return of the King later tied its haul. 

1946 Disney's Song of the South has its world premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. Disney has long since hidden it from view though it was celebrated in its time, winning one competitive and one Honorary Oscar

More after the jump including Penelope Pussycat, Julie Andrews, and Ryan Gosling...

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Pt 1 - Sizing up Netflix's contenders in all 23 Oscar categories

by Juan Carlos Ojano

It is already November and the pandemic rages on.  With moviegoing risky or unavailable movielovers have turned to streamers for their film consumption. The Academy has even acknowledged this shift in how we consume films by allowing films to qualify for the Oscars even if they only went streaming.  While the past few years have seen the rise of streaming wars (Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, and Disney+, etcetera), nobody has been able to match the sheer quantity of content that Netflix has been producing or acquiring. Netflix could well dominate this awards season. But by how much?

Important Caveat: Do note that Netflix has not announced the entirety of its slate through February 28, 2021, the final day of eligibility for this Oscars; pieces are still moving and more films will probably show up. With that, here are Netflix’s contenders in all 23 Oscar categories...

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