"Thank the gods of cinema for this annual release of Oscar nominees." - San Francisco Chronicle

 "Short films remain a great way to discover new talent in its infancy. Past short film winners have included John Lasseter, Peter Capaldi, Jim Henson, Don Siegel, Taylor Hackford and Steven Wright." - rogerebert.com 

FilmScene is pleased to continue our popular annual tradition of screening the Oscar-nominated short films. A perennial hit with audiences around the country (and now the world), don't miss this year's selection of short stories. The Academy Awards take place Sunday, February 24 - join us for our FREE Blue Carpet Bash!

All three programs feature every Academy Award nominee in the Animated, Live Action and Documentary categories. Shorts programs will screen multiple times thru February with individual ticketing for each program.

2019 OSCAR-NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORTS

Rating Note: This program is rated R and includes violence, language and adult themes.
Please be advised that this year's program includes themes of children in peril, murder and racism. 

MADRE (MOTHER)
Dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Spain, 19 minutes

A single mother receives a call from her seven-year-old son who is on vacation with his father in the French Basque Country. At first the call is a cause for joy, but soon it becomes a horrible nightmare when the child tells her that he is alone and cannot find his father who left a while ago.

FAUVE
Dir. Jeremy Comte, Canada, 17 minutes

Set in a surface mine, two boys sink into a seemingly innocent power game with Mother Nature as the sole observer. Alone in the wild the two boys play around. Complicity evolves into a confrontation where one wants to have power over the other. Taking proportions larger than nature, this game will not prove as harmless as they thought.

MARGUERITTE
Dir. Marianne Farley, Canada, 19 minutes

An aging women and her nurse develop a friendship that inspires her to unearth unacknowledged longing and thus help her make peace with her past.

DETAINMENT
Dir. Vincent Lambe, Ireland, 30 minutes

Two ten year-old boys are detained by police under suspicion of abducting and murdering a toddler. A true story based on interview transcripts from the James Bulgar case which shocked the world in 1993 and continues to incite public outrage across the UK today.

SKIN
Dir. Guy Nattiv, USA, 20 minutes

In a small supermarket in a blue collar town, a black man smiles at a 10 year old white boy across the checkout aisle. This innocuous moment sends two gangs into a ruthless war that ends with a shocking backlash.