Every year, fifteen films with runtimes under 40 minutes are handpicked by the Academy for one of three Oscars: Live Action short film, Animated short film and Documentary short film. And every year, these fifteen films display diverse perspectives not only on the art of filmmaking but the world as a whole. We take a look at each of the five, here in the Live Action category.
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Written and directed by Nebojsa Slijepcevic, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent is a compact film, and not just in its 13-minute runtime. The film is set in 1993 at the height of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but for the most part we remain mostly on a train—and in a single train car, at that. When the train is stopped unexpectedly, unnamed "soldiers" board to check everyone's IDs, except one man in this train car can't provide the necessary paperwork. Though mainly focused on Dragan (Goran Bogdan), the man of the title is someone much braver but to say more would ruin the film's sharpness and well-earned tension.
I'm Not A Robot
A rare comedy in the Oscars Live Action shorts nominations, Victoria Warmerdam's I'm Not A Robot takes a satirical look at the world of animated AI, human-like bots who may one day live among us. Lara (Ellen Parren) makes a shocking discovery about herself when she can't seem to pass those innocuous but oh-so-annoying Captcha tests all over the internet. The film smartly layers its comedy with more serious questions about the infiltration of robots and AI into our everyday lives as we come to see how this revelation will affect both her personal and professional lives. It's nice to have a bit of a laugh now and then, especially when faced with the idea of artificial intelligence taking over the human experience...right?
A Lien
Like last year's nominee Red, White and Blue, A Lien (written and directed by David Cutler-Kreutz and Sam Cutler-Kreutz) aims to put a human face on a story many of us are more used to seeing in the headlines than in our everyday lives. Where the former dealt with the issue of seeking an abortion where it's not so easy to do so, the latter takes us inside a Greencard interview for Oscar, a husband and father (William Martinez) seeking to formalize his right to live in the U.S. With his wife Sophia (Victoria Ratermanis) and daughter in tow, things go horribly awry when ICE agents show up at the offices cruelly using this limbo—not yet documented, but on the cusp of being approved—as a window to arrest people just trying to follow the rules. With a verité style and hand-held filming, the filmmakers put us in the middle of the chaos and confusion as Oscar and Sophia fight to explain themselves, save their daughter and navigate this unexpected development.
The Last Ranger
As the nominee with the longest runtime (30 minutes) in this Live Action Oscars category, The Last Ranger uses every moment of it to tug at all our heartstrings; truly, anyone unmoved by this story of poaching rhinoceros horns in the South African wilds is clearly a robot. Directed by Cindy Lee, the film follows a team of rangers who monitor the vast expanse of an area inhabited by rhinos who are stalked and poached for their horns. After encountering the young and curious Litha (Liyabona Mroqoza), Ranger Khuselwa (Avumile Qongqo) invites the girl to join her on her monitoring. But things turn dangerous (and a bit contrived, honestly) when poachers target one of the rhinos their watching and brutally cut off her horn for their own profit. Beautifully filmed and surely shining a light on an illegal trade that continues to be a problem not just in South Africa but everywhere it reaches, what the film lacks in narrative finesse is more than makes up for in impact.
Anuja
Set in the bustling and chaotic streets of New Delhi, Anuja centers on the title character, a wisp of a girl (played by Sajda Pathan) who works in a clothing factory despite it being illegal for her to be there rather than in school. With the help of her older sister (Ananya Shanbhag), she navigates the creepy foreman's version of management and tries to make a little extra money on the site. When she's offered a chance to put her natural smarts to use in school, Anuja finds herself at a fork in the road she's far too young to really be able to navigate. The accomplishment of Anuja is its lead actress, a bright and precocious little thing who is herself a "street child" of New Delhi. Written and directed by Adam J. Graves, Anuja gives a face to the faceless and reminds us that opportunities are to be seized.
The Live Action Oscar Nominees begin screening at Music Box Theatre on Friday, February 14.