News

Freddie Fox’s time-spanning short film The Painting & the Statue has been selected for the 2025 HollyShorts Film Festival.

Starring Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Tanya Reynolds (Sex Education) and Asim Chaudhry (Barbie), the short follows two works of art — a painting and a statue — across 250 years: trapped in the same space, aware of each other’s existence, yet forever unable to meet.

“As the world changes around them, from the spoils of the 19th-century empire, through decadent Bright Young Thing parties, midnight Nazi bombings, and into the sterile halls of a modern-day museum reckoning with its colonial past, the silent observers remain unmoving, unseen, yet ever-watchful,” a plot synopsis reads. “Until, one day, by pure chance, their eyes meet, and for a fleeting, magical moment, the centuries melt away.”

The movie is produced by Kαrimα Sammout Kanellopoulou through her BAFTA-nominated company, Galazia Productions, and executive produced by Oscar-winner Chris Overton (The Silent Child)

and Slick Films,...

All Creatures Great and Small star Rachel Shenton has welcomed her first child with husband, actor Chris Overton. But the baby boy’s arrival didn’t come without a little drama as the tot arrived earlier than expected. The 37-year-old actress shared the news on Instagram on Saturday (April 19), writing, “On the 09.04.2025 my dream came true….Welcome to the world Orson Wilde Overton….Our hearts are yours” alongside a black and white photo of the tot’s feet. She added, “The biggest thank you to the brilliant midwives and doctors at Royal Stoke maternity Unit. Orson came along earlier than expected…so we needed to stay in hospital for a while and we couldn’t have wished for better care and support ” Fans, friends, and celebrities jumped into the comments to share their well wishes, including Rivals star Emily Atack, who wrote, “Absolutely bloody brilliant news xxx.” View this post...

One of the world’s most prestigious short film festivals, HollyShorts, is coming to London.

HollyShorts will hold its first-ever London edition as part of the L.A.-based festival’s 20th anniversary year and, The Hollywood Reporter can reveal, will present HollyShorts Honoree Awards to a slew of Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated British and Irish short filmmakers.

Recipients of the HollyShorts Honoree Award include Tom Berkeley and Ross White, who won an Oscar in 2023 for their short film An Irish Goodbye; Chris Overton, who won an Oscar in 2018 for The Silent Child; Misan Harriman, who was nominated for an Academy Award this year for The After; and Jamie Donoughue, who was nominated in 2016 for Shok.

The event will also present a special Trailblazer Award to actor James Martin, whose pivotal role in An Irish Goodbye led to him being the first star with Down Syndrome to win at the Academy Awards.

Diana Naser’s “Amplified,” Adam J. Graves’ “Anuja,” Nina Gantz’s “Wander to Wonder” and Ben Proudfoot’s “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” have qualified for Academy Awards in the short-film categories by winning the top awards at the 20th annual HollyShorts Film Festival, which took place this week in Hollywood and held its awards ceremony on Sunday night.

HollyShorts is one of about 150 Oscar-qualifying festivals whose top winners automatically become eligible for Oscars in the three shorts categories. It is one of only 15 festivals that qualifies as many as four films for Academy Awards.

“Amplified” won the Best Short Film Grand Prize, the festival’s top award. “Anuja” took the award for live-action short, “Wander to Wonder” for animated short and “The Final Copy of Ilon Specht” for documentary short.

Ben Proudfoot, the director of the last of those films, is the reigning Oscar champ in the Best Documentary Short category,...

Chris Overton and his wife Rachel Shenton won the Best Live Action Short Oscar in 2018 for their moving film “The Silent Child.” Since then, Overton has blossomed into a key creator in the short film world with his company, Slick Films, producing a slew of contenders each year. His own entry, “In Too Deep,” won Best British Short Film at the British Short Film Awards in 2023 over, among others, another contender from Slick Films — Daniel Deville‘s “By Any Other Name.”

Slick Films’ new short, “Suzie,” has just made a splash, being chosen as the newest Vimeo Staff Pick (watch it here). This character study by writer-director Jimmy Dean follows a middle-aged woman on the day she tells her son she is getting a divorce. The film is anchored by a terrific performance from Helen Behan, who was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2020 for “The Virtues.

The BAFTAs reveal the longlists for this year’s film awards on Friday, January 5. Ten short films will number among those still in contention. Look for this trio of top-notch tales to make the cut and remain in the running to be in the final five when the BAFTA nominations are announced on January 18.

Tom Berkeley and Ross White won at both the BAFTAs and Oscars last year for their short film “The Irish Goodbye.” Their follow-up, “The Golden West,” is set in Ireland in 1849 and follows two sisters (Eileen Walsh and Aoife Duffin) who try to strike it rich in the gold rush. Their lack of success reignites their sibling rivalry. The Irish vistas deliver a feeling of pure cinema while the dialogue and performances are reminiscent of the best of the Coen brothers movies.

Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film...

Short films — whether it be live-action, animated, or documentary — are becoming increasingly popular as more notable filmmakers begin to tell stories via this medium. Wes Anderson has four short films on Netflix, each adapted from a Roald Dahl book with “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” the most popular of the bunch. Pedro Almodóvar made “Strange Way of Life” with Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke. And Disney has the animated centenary celebration “Once Upon a Studio.”

These high-profile projects face fierce competition from some of the most up-and-coming filmmakers. Here are 10 other short films you should try and watch if you can. We think they’ll deservedly be serious Oscar contenders.

“In Too Deep” — Chris Overton

Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2018 for “The Silent Child” and they return here with another searing short that packs a wallop. “In Too Deep...

HollyShorts and Goldfinch hosted several Oscar contenders in the short film categories witha special screening in London last week. Directors were on-hand to introduce their films and talk about their work. The night featured shorts from both blazing newcomers and Oscar-winning filmmakers flexing their muscles once more.

Beth Park‘s “Wild Animal” screened for the first time after only being completed the day before. The short depicted a woman suffering disorientation, paranoia, confusion, and loss of identity in this smart exploration of new motherhood. Park called the film “a journey of a lifetime” and said that the film would never have been made without the sense of team spirit found in her first short.

Misan Harriman‘s short film — Netflix’s “The After” — was up next. Harriman is best known for his work as a photographer and has photographed many high-profile celebrities including Steve McQueen and Liam Neeson. He turned...

The 2023 British Short Film Awards took place on Nov. 7 in an intimate ceremony at the Marylebone Theatre in London, hosted by Alex Zane. The night celebrated the best of this year’s British short films, with several of them qualifying for the Oscars and BAFTAs. Short film royalty were in attendance, including Slick Films founder Chris Overton, who won the Best Live Action Short Film Oscar in 2018 with Rachel Shenton for “The Silent Child.”

Gold Derby attended the warm, jovial ceremony, which is now in its third year. The ceremony featured a screening of “The Irish Goodbye,” which won Best Live Action Short at the Oscars earlier this year, along with an illuminating chat conducted by Alex Zane with the film’s directors Tom Berkeley and Ross White. Their new film, “The Golden West,” won Cinematography, Score, and Director.

One of the night’s other winners was “Dog Run,” a...

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro-budget indie films to bigger-budget studio films and everything in between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dome Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #349: Masterclass: Making an Oscar-winning short film with...

Some star-packed projects are heading to the 19th annual Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. The just-announced lineup includes films featuring, produced or directed by the likes of Tom Hanks, Eva Longoria, Alden Ehrenreich, Queen Latifah, Tom Holland, Keke Palmer, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, John Travolta and more.

Over 400 short films are programmed in the festival, which runs from August 10-20. It’s a hybrid event, with in-person screenings at the Tcl Chinese Theatres in Hollywood complemented by a virtual program streaming on the platform Bitpix TV. It’s an Oscar-qualifying festival in four categories: Best Documentary Short (newly added this year), Best Short Film Grand Prize, Best Short Animation and Best Short Live Action. Winners of those prizes automatically become eligible for Academy Award consideration.

Mindful of the actors and writers strikes, the festival issued a statement along with the lineup announcement. “HollyShorts supports both the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes,...

Exclusive: Filmmaking duo Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton, best known for their Oscar-winning short The Silent Child, have set a new slate of projects at their UK-based production company Slick Films.

The slate includes Isla Solidad, created by Omar Deneb Juárez and Camilo Gutiérrez Galván of Sauce Negro Films, Chris Overton’s In Too Deep, starring Shenton and Stephen Wight, and Gregg Chilingirian’s George. All three films will screen at Hollyshorts this August.

Isla Solidad is the tale of a single mother who loses the custody of her son and struggles to make amends for her past mistakes. She pleads for a chance to bring him back home. To do so, she must overcome her financial strains and the complicated care of her sick grandmother. In Too Deep tells the story of a grieving father who goes to extreme measures, using AI technology to relive their fondest memories. George...

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have launched movie fans into excitement with the latest trailer for their new movie, “Barbie.” Gerwig directs the project and she also co-wrote the script with her partner Baumbach. Previously, both scored Oscar nominations in the same year for their work on “Little Women” (Adapted Screenplay for Gerwig) and “Marriage Story” (Original Screenplay for Baumbach). With “Barbie,” the pair of filmmakers could become the first couple to win an Oscar for the same feature film since 2018.

Gerwig and Baumbach would be up for Best Original Screenplay together, while Gerwig could also be up for Best Director, and both could be up for Best Picture (as producers). If they were to win together, they’d become the 19th couple to take home a pair of Oscars for the same movie.

They’d join these 18 joint champs:

Muriel Box and Sydney Box for Best Original Screenplay (1947) — “The Seventh Veil...

Back in September, Lionsgate announced that Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) was directing not only a remake of the 2008 film The Strangers (watch it Here), but an entire remake trilogy. The first installment in this trilogy had already started filming by the time Lionsgate made the announcement, and now Deadline reports that filming has wrapped on all three films. They also revealed that Rachel Shenton (All Creatures Great and Small) has joined the cast.

The Strangers remake trilogy was filmed in Slovakia, with Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale) in the lead role. Froy Gutierrez (Cruel Summer), Gabriel Basso (Hillbilly Elegy), and Ema Horvath (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) are also in the cast. The first entry in the remake trilogy centers on

Petsch’s character as she drives cross-country with her longtime boyfriend (Gutierrez) to begin a new life in the Pacific Northwest.

“Doctor Who” star Peter Capaldi and Raindance founder Elliot Grove have been honored at the first ever British Short Film Awards.

Capaldi was given the Icon Award while Grove was handed the Impact Award

The British Short Film Awards, in partnership with the HearArt Project, were hosted by presenter Alex Zane on Friday evening. The event streamed on YouTube due to pandemic restrictions.

The jury, who deliberated across 35 categories, were made up of Aimee Lou Wood (“Sex Education”), Samuel Adewumni (“The Last Tree”), Tom Rhys Harries (“White Lines”) and Elizabeth Lail (“You”) as well as Oscar-winning patron Rachel Shenton (“The Silent Child”).

Awards founder and short-film director Tommy Clark said in a statement: “Short films have been an incredible launchpad for some of the industry’s biggest actors and filmmakers today, yet there is no standalone awards ceremony in their honour. The British Short Film Awards aim to recognise, inspire...

The Kindness In Film Summit’s debut online conference on Sept. 30 boasts a host of industry luminaries.

Speakers set to feature at the event include Bianca Gavin (Pulse Films), Bee Devine (Sky), Gareth Unwin (Screenskills) Jules Hussey (Brazen Productions), Sara Putt (Sara Putt Associates), David Vickery (Industrial Light & Magic), Victoria Einslee (actor and founder Primetime) and Paul Brett (Flying Tiger Entertainment).

In addition, casting director Shakyra Dowling, John Maidens (BBC Studios), Chris Overton (Slick Films), producer Sunshine Jackson Underhill, Line Langebek (Raising Films), Pinky Lilani (Kindness in Leadership), Will Hanrahan (First Look TV), Lucy Powell (Film & TV Charity), Ita O’Brien (Intimacy on Set), Robin Millar (Chrysalis Records), Sadhbh Murphy (Network Ireland Television), Bob Clarke (Mama Youth), Michelle White (Six feet from the Spotlight) and Anna Southgate (Penwoman) will also speak at the event.

Writer and actor Zara Janjua, Sajid Varda (U.K. Muslim Film), producer Candida Julian-Jones, psychotherapist and former...

In today’s Global Bulletin young U.K. directors get a powerful new resource in Director Now from “Humans” director Lewis Arnold, Endemol Shine Poland starts shooting “The Crack,” Starzplay gets “High Fidelity” in Latin America and parts of Europe, plus Australia Media House and Leonine announce major hires.

Directors

More than 100 emerging U.K. directors have joined together to launch Directors Now, a free downloadable document in which each shares their unique backstory, musings and anecdotes about working in the industry today.

Meant as a resource for the next generation of filmmakers, the document was put together in part to counteract the negative impact the Covid-19 situation has had on new filmmakers who might otherwise have been starting their careers if circumstances were more normal.

Directors Now was created and edited by director Lewis Arnold, who also frequently teaches at the University of Gloucestershire and the National Film and Television School.

Writer-producer reveals further details of upcoming features and drama series.

Paula Vaccaro, producer of Venice award-winner On The Milky Road and documentary Uncle Howard, has revealed further details of her upcoming projects.

The founder of production outfit Pinball London, who will curate several of this year’s Sarajevo CineLink Talks for Documentary Campus, will be in Venice next month to unveil drama feature Listen.

The film, which will play in the Orizzonti strand, marks the debut of Portuguese director Ana Rocha and was also scripted by Vaccaro with partner Aaron Brookner and Rocha.

Sold by Magnolia Pictures International, Vaccaro and...

The shorts and animation branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chose its final five from 140 qualifying films. In order to qualify for Oscar contention, shorts have to win an award at an eligible film festival. Last year’s winner, for example, Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton’s “The Silent Child,” debuted at the Rhode Island International Film Festival before going on to win the Academy Award.

Many Academy voters don’t catch up with these shorts from emerging filmmakers around the world until they’re nominated. This year’s five contenders hail from four countries, and deal with a disturbing range of dark subjects, often involving children in jeopardy.

Irish director Vincent Lambe’s controversial, true-life drama, “Detainment,” focuses on the shocking 1993 Liverpool murder of a toddler by two 10-year-old boys, who are interrogated by skeptical police.

Jérémy Comte’s 16-minute Sundance winner, “Fauve,” also focuses...

Joining the rest of their short list brethren, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled its list of live-action shorts contenders for the upcoming 2019 Oscars, choosing ten films from 140 qualifying films. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees. The nominations in all two dozen competitive categories will be announced on January 22.

This year’s batch includes a compelling variety, including the Cannes entry “Caroline,” the workplace comedy “Chuchotage,” and the slice-of-life coming-of-age story “Fauve.”

Last year’s winner, Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton’s “The Silent Child,” took a somewhat untraditional route to glory, debuting at the Rhode Island International Film Festival before going on to win the Academy Award.

The films, listed in alphabetical order by title, are:

“Caroline”

“Chuchotage”

“Detainment”

“Fauve”

“Icare”

“Marguerite”

“May Day”

“Mother”

“Skin”

“Wale”

The Oscars will air live on the...

International directors Luca Guadagnino, Annemarie Jacir, Ruben Ostland, Nadine Labaki and Lee Chang-Dong also invited.

Rose Garnett, the head of BBC Films, Lizzie Francke, senior development and production executive at the BFI, and Tessa Ross, the former head of Film4 and now an independent producer at House Productions, are among the leading UK figures invited to join AMPAS on Monday June 25.

The Us Academy said this is its most diverse membership drive with a record 928 people invited to join the Academy from 59 countries. The invitation list comprised 49% females and 38% people of colour.

Further international executive invitees included renowned sales people Sharon Harel-Cohen,...

Levinson will accept the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.

Karlovy Vary Film Festival (Kviff) will honour Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson as part of its 53rd edition this summer.

Levinson, who won the Academy Award for best director for Rain Man in 1989, will accept the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema.

He is also known for films such as his directorial debut Diner, Good Morning, Vietnam with Robin Williams and 10-time Oscar-nominated Bugsy.

Rain Man and Levinson’s 1998 political satire Wag The Dog will both screen at the festival, with introductions from the director.

Writer-director-producer Barry Levinson, who will screen his HBO-produced account of the Penn State sex-abuse scandal “Paterno” at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, will be honored with the Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema, the organization announced Wednesday.

At the fest, which launches its 53rd edition in the Czech Republic’s historic spa town June 29, Levinson will also introduce his Oscar-winning 1988 Dustin Hoffman-starrer “Rain Man” and 1998’s “Wag the Dog.” The impact of Levinson’s screenwriting, including 1970s TV hits and breakout courtroom drama “…And Justice for All,” will be celebrated along with his directorial work, which launched with 1982’s “Diner” and carried on with “The Natural,” “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Avalon” and “Bugsy.”

Karlovy Vary said that Levinson’s producing work, backing directors from Mike Newell (“Donnie Brasco”) to Neil Labute (“Possession”), has made his influence on cinema comparable with that of William Friedkin, Jerry Schatzberg,...

Winner of the best Live Action Short Film Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards, The Silent Child is a heart-rending, urgent and hugely engaging film about the deep-rooted societal ignorance surrounding deafness, and highlights the struggles of a four year old deaf girl (played by deaf actor Maisie Sly), as she learns to communicate using sign language with the help of a new teacher.

Directed by Chris Overton and written by Rachel Shenton, the film won the hearts and minds of academy members earlier this month thanks to its brights and hugely likeable lead, and is set to ignite an important discourse surrounding deafness and the need for a broader understanding of how to educate hearing impaired children, when it airs on the BBC over the Easter Weekend.

As the youngest child of a busy middle class couple, hearing impaired four year old Libby (Maisie Sly) has until now...

Gary Oldman, Roger Deakins among winners.

While the biggest Brit contender at the 2018 Oscars, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, from UK outfits Blueprint Pictures and Film4, didn’t live up to expectations by taking only two wins from its seven nominations (for stars Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell), this year’s Academy Awards still saw the UK well represented among its winners.

Gary Oldman broke his Oscar duck by taking the best actor prize for his transformative portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, from UK outfit Working Title. Despite a vaulted career, Oldman’s win came from only his second nomination,...

The 2018 Academy Awards took place on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The 90th annual ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The full list of winners is below.

Supporting Actor:

Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”

Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”

Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”

Makeup and Hair:

“Darkest Hour,” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick

“Victoria and Abdul,” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard

“Wonder,” Arjen Tuiten

Costume Design:

“Phantom Thread,” Mark Bridges

“Beauty and the Beast,” Jacqueline Durran

“Darkest Hour,” Jacqueline Durran

“The Shape of Water,” Luis Sequeira

“Victoria and Abdul,” Consolata Boyle

Best Documentary Feature:

“Icarus,” Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan

“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail,” Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman

“Faces Places,” Jr, Agnès Varda, Rosalie Varda

“Last Men in Aleppo,” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen

“Strong Island,...

Best Picture

The Shape of Water

Call Me By Your Name

Darkest Hour

Dunkirk

Get Out

Lady Bird

Phantom Thread

The Post

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor

Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Best Actress

Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Meryl Streep, The Post

Best Supporting Actor

Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,...

Our forum posters, many of whom are Hollywood insiders who hide their identities behind screen names, are busy commenting on Sunday’s 90th Academy Awards. Below, just a sampling of what they had to say about the top races at the 2018 Oscars. Take a read and then join the discussion, if you dare.

See 2018 Oscars: Full list of winners (and losers) at the 90th Academy Awards [Updating Live]

Best Picture: “The Shape of Water”

Noah Arlington: Knew it. Congrats to Shape of Water

Lord Freddy Blackfyre: Take that SAG stat

Nate: I can’t believe that only 6 women won Oscars tonight, 2 in categories specifically designated for women.

Eddy Q: We’re back to Best Director being more significant for Best Picture than screenplay awards. It had been the other way round for a while.

Best Actress: Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”)

Miles: Nice way of playing off Foster’s injury.

MaryAnn’s quick take… My pick: I think the quietly shocking “DeKalb Elementary” [pictured] may win for its very of-the-moment story about a school office worker’s attempt to de-escalate an invading gunman’s rage via patience and empathy. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

The power of film to move the needle on contentious topics of cultural debate could not possibly be on better display in the films nominated for the Oscar for Best Live Action Short… unless all five of them, instead of merely four, tackled serious matters with such social-justice-warrior ferocity. The one outlier here, though, is a very welcome light distraction.

The nominated films these year are all so strong that it’s difficult to pick an indisputable front-runner. But I think the quietly shocking “DeKalb Elementary” [IMDb|official site], by writer-director Reed Van Dyk,...

In “The Silent Child,” a little deaf girl is shown that there is a whole new world of communication for her after she is introduced to sign language by a caring social worker. It is one of this year’s nominees at the Oscars for Best Live Action Short and marks the first bid for both the director, Chris Overton, and the writer, Rachel Shenton.

The film centers on Libby, a four-year-old deaf girl living with her middle-class family in rural England. Despite Libby being deaf her family seems to operate as if everything is completely normal and like Libby is a side character. In anticipation of her starting school, Libby’s family hires a social worker, Joanne (Shenton), to make sure she’s well-adjusted for when she starts. When Joanne says she’ll start with a combination of speech and sign language, Libby’s mother, Sue, says that shouldn...

Three of the most difficult categories to call every year at the Oscars are those of the short films. They lack precursor prizes and, in many cases, visibility. If you are not able to see these films before the Academy Awards on March 4, don’t worry: we’ve got you covered. Below is our take on the five nominees for Best Live Action Short.

A screening committee drawn from the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members winnowed a record field of 165 entries for Best Live Action Short down to 10 semi-finalists. All members of the branch could attend December screenings in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco and then cast preferential ballots for the five nominees.

“DeKalb Elementary” (USA)

Director/Writer: Reed Van Dyk

Running Time: 21 minutes

The film details the terrifying experience of an elementary school secretary when she confronts a disturbed gunman who has entered the...

At the end of the Oscar-nominated live-action short “The Silent Child,” a trio of title cards deliver some sobering facts. One explains that “over 78% of deaf children attend mainstream school with no specialist support in place,” and a final note adds that the filmmakers “hope this film contributes in the fight for sign language to be recognized in every school across the globe.” But the Oscar-nominated short film conveys its message long before the factoids pop up, thanks to a rich script from first-time screenwriter Rachel Shenton (who also stars in the film) and a rewarding turn from her young co-star, first-time actor Maisie Sly.

“Deafness and sign language are extremely close to my heart,” Shenton said. “I always say deafness is a silent disability, you can’t see and it’s not life-threatening, so it has to touch your life in some way in order for it to be on your radar.

Chicago – From deafness to religious conflict to one of the most vicious events in American history, the Oscar nominated Live Action short films fulfill the drama, emotions and even laughs in a compact form. The 2018 Live Action Shorts nominees are being shown in one program, locally at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago. Click here for more information. The Animations Shorts are also being shown.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

The caliber of all the live action shorts – which of course means a narrative with actors, as opposed to animation or documentary – are at a top drawer level, both as stories and films. There is even a surreal comedy (“The Eleven O’Clock”) that delivers hilarity and thoughtfulness in 13 scant minutes. There is not one to recommend over the other, only a journey of cinematic purpose in each film, delivered with a creativeness that becomes emotional. Even the film that is a plea...

This year’s batch of Oscar nominated live-action shorts — five in total, including two from the United States — features a startlingly varied selection, from topics to genre (there’s even a stray comedy in here). Yet, despite the wide range of films on offer for this year’s award, the five nominees are bonded by a strong take on timely political issues (from gun control to religious tolerance) and personal anxieties that hardly seem out of place in seriously strange times. Look closely — this batch might not be as unconnected as it seems.

Read More:2018 Oscar Predictions: Best Live Action Short

As is awards season tradition, ShortsHD will be releasing this year’s short film Oscar nominees — including live-action, animated, and documentary — into theaters around the country next week, all in hopes that cinephiles will spark to the idea of checking out a big batch of contenders they most likely...

The Live Action and Animated 2018 Oscar Nominated Shorts Open at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, Mo 63130) in St. Louis February 9th.

For the 13th consecutive year, Shorts HD and Magnolia Pictures present the Oscar-Nominated Short Films, opening on Feb. 9th. With two categories offered – Animated and Live Action– this is your annual chance to predict the winners (and have the edge in your Oscar pool)! A perennial hit with audiences around the country and the world, don’t miss this year’s selection of shorts. The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 4th.

Here’s the line-up:

Nimated Shorts (Estimated Running Time: 83 minutes)

Dear Basketball – Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant, USA, 5 minutes

Negative Space – Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, France, 5 minutes

Lou – Dave Mullins and Dana Murray, USA, 7 minutes

Revolting Rhymes – Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer, UK, 29 minutes

Garden Party – Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon, France...

The Shape of Water, Get Out, Lady Bird, Dunkirk and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri led the 2018 Oscar nominations, with Guillermo Del Toro's horror/romance The Shape of Water scoring an impressive 13 nods.

All five of the aforementioned films were nominated for Best Picture, a list that also included Phantom Thread, The Post, Call Me By Your Name and Darkest Hour.

Del Toro was also nominated for Best Director, along with first timers Get Out's Jordan Peele and Lady Bird's Greta Gerwig. Christopher Nolan also received a nod for Dunkirk,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are set to reveal the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards in all 24 categories this morning. Films such as “The Shape of Water” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” are expected to earn multiple nominations this year following big wins at the Golden Globes and Critic Choice Awards.

Click here to watch the nominations announcement live. Nominations will be updated live below as they are announced.

Best Picture

“Call Me by Your Name”

“Darkest Hour”

“Dunkirk”

“Get Out”

“Lady Bird”

“Phantom Thread”

“The Post”

“The Shape of Water”

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Best Director

Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water

Christopher Nolan, “Dunkirk”

Paul Thomas Anderson, “Phantom Thread”

Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird”

Jordan Peele, “Get Out”

Best Actor

Timothée Chalamet “Call Me by Your Name”

Daniel Day-Lewis “Phantom Thread”

Daniel Kaluuya “Get Out”

Gary Oldman “Darkest Hour”

Denzel Washington “Roman J.

Two American university film schools are represented on this year’s Oscar shortlist for Best Live Action Short Film, which have to win film festival awards to qualify. The Academy’s Short Films and Animation branch selected 10 live-action shorts (out of 165 qualified submissions) to contend for Oscar nominations. They will now vote for five nominees from the shortlist after attending January branch screenings in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco.

The shorts are listed below in alphabetical order. No film will be deemed a frontrunner until I have seen it.

Contenders:

“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk, director (UCLA)

“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, director (Finch)

“Facing Mecca,” Jan-Eric Mack, director, and Joël Jent, producer (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion)

“Icebox,” Daniel Sawka, director, and Camille Cornuel, producer (Iceboxthefilmco)

“Lost Face,” Sean Meehan, director, and Sam McGarry, producer (Soma Films)

“My Nephew Emmett,” Kevin Wilson, Jr., director (New York University)

“Rise of a Star,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Short Films and Animation branch has selected its shortlist of 10 live-action short films (out of 165 qualified submissions) to contend for five Oscar nominations.

American film schools UCLA and Nyu both landed films on the list. “DeKalb University,” directed by UCLA’s Reed Van Dyk, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences College Television Awards. “My Nephew Emmett,” from Nyu’s Kevin Wilson Jr., received the gold medal for narrative at the 2017 Student Academy Awards.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk, director (UCLA)

“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, director (Finch)

“Facing Mecca,” Jan-Eric Mack, director, and Joël Jent, producer (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion)

“Icebox,” Daniel Sawka, director, and Camille Cornuel, producer (Iceboxthefilmco)

“Lost Face,” Sean Meehan, director, and Sam McGarry,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Short Films and Animation branch has selected its shortlist of 10 live-action short films (out of 165 qualified submissions) to contend for five Oscar nominations.

American film schools UCLA and Nyu both landed films on the list. “DeKalb University,” directed by UCLA’s Reed Van Dyk, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences College Television Awards. “My Nephew Emmett,” from Nyu’s Kevin Wilson Jr., received the gold medal for narrative at the 2017 Student Academy Awards.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“DeKalb Elementary,” Reed Van Dyk, director (UCLA)

“The Eleven O’Clock,” Derin Seale, director (Finch)

“Facing Mecca,” Jan-Eric Mack, director, and Joël Jent, producer (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion)

“Icebox,” Daniel Sawka, director, and Camille Cornuel, producer (Iceboxthefilmco)

“Lost Face,” Sean Meehan, director, and Sam McGarry,...