- This event has passed.
Oscar Short Film Festival / Sunday Documentary Screenings
March 2, 2014
pictured above: The Lady in Number 6
March 2 at Bear’s Place
Documentary Program A 5:30
Documentary Program B 7:30
Short films, like short stories, are often overlooked. The best short subjects have all of the power, scope and resonance of a feature-length film. We are screening the best of the best: 3 programs (one devoted to animation, one to live-action and the third to documentaries) featuring all 15 Oscar nominees. This is your chance to see the films before the Awards show.
Each program will be shown on campus at Fine Arts, Woodburn Hall, as well as at Bear’s Place and the Back Door. At these venues, each program is $5 but for $10 you can buy an Oscar Pass admitting you to all three programs (on different nights, on different weekends). The programs are not rated by if they were, the Animation program would be rated PG – one of the animated films is a bit dark, but certainly no darker than the average superhero movie. It’s kid-friendly for most kids. And there are Saturday matinees — 4:00, Fine Arts — for the Animation program.
At the screenings you can vote for your favorite film (or the film that you think will win the Oscar) – pick the winning film and you will win a complimentary ticket to another Ryder movie and be entered into a contest for Dinner for Two at FARM or the Uptown Cafe.
DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM A (95 min)
The five documentary nominees run a combined 3 hours and are divided into two programs. One $5 ticket admits you into both programs.
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” (Directors: Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed). Synopsis: At 109, Alice Herz Sommer is the world’s oldest pianist…and its oldest Holocaust survivor. At the heart of her remarkable story of courage and endurance is her passion for music.
“Karama Has No Walls” (Director: Sara Ishaq). Synopsis: When protesters in Yemen added their voices to those of other nations during the Arab Spring, the government responded with an attack that left 53 people dead and inspired widespread sympathy throughout the country.
“Facing Fear” (Director: Jason Cohen). Synopsis: As a gay 13-year-old, Matthew Boger endured a savage beating at the hands of a group of neo-Nazis. Twenty-five years later, he meets one of them again by chance.
DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM B (85 min)
“Cavedigger” (Director Jeffrey Karoff). Synopsis: New Mexico environmental sculptor Ra Paulette carves elaborately designed and painstakingly executed sandstone caves, driven by an artistic vision that often brings him into conflict with his patrons.
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” (Director: Edgar Barens). Synopsis: In a maximum security prison, the terminally ill Jack Hall faces his final days with the assistance of hospice care provided by workers drawn from the prison population.
LIVE ACTION PROGRAM (113 min)
“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)” (Director: Esteban Crespo). Synopsis: Paula, a Spanish aid worker, has an encounter with an African child soldier named Kaney.
“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything)” (Directors: Xavier Legrand and Alexandre Gavras). Synopsis: Miriam has left her abusive husband and taken refuge with her children in the local supermarket where she works.
“Helium” (Directors Anders Walter and Kim Magnusson). Synopsis: A dying boy finds comfort in the tales of a magical land called HELIUM, told to him by the hospital janitor.
“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)” (Directors: Selma Vilhunen and Kirsikka Saari). Synopsis: Sini tries frantically to get her family ready to leave for a wedding, but her husband and two children are interfering with her efforts.
“The Voorman Problem” (Directors: Mark Gill and Baldwin Li). Synopsis: A psychiatrist is called to a prison to examine an inmate named Voorman, who is convinced he is a god. Fans of Sherlock on PBS will recognize a familiar face.
ANIMATED PROGRAM (102 min)
“Feral” (Directors Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden). Synopsis: A wild boy who has grown up in the woods is found by a hunter and returned to civilization.
“Get a Horse!” (Directors: Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim). Synopsis: Mickey Mouse and his friends are enjoying a wagon ride until Peg-Leg Pete shows up with plans to ruin their day.
“Mr. Hublot” (Directors: Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares). Synopsis: The eccentric, isolated Mr. Hublot finds his carefully ordered world disrupted by the arrival of Robot Pet.
“Possessions” (Director: Shuhei Morita). Synopsis: A man seeking shelter from a storm in a dilapidated shrine encounters a series of household objects inhabited by goblin spirits.
“Room on the Broom” (Directors: Max Lang and Jan Lachauer). Synopsis: A genial witch and her cat are joined on their broom by several friends as they set off on an adventure.