Wichita Public Library hosts 37th annual Academy Awards Short Film Festival

Rod Pocowatchit
·4 min read

For the 37th year, the Wichita Public Library will present its Academy Awards Short Film Festival, where it will screen nominated short films in the live action, animation and documentary categories.

The Academy Awards will be presented in Hollywood on Sunday, March 12. To qualify as a short film for Oscar consideration, films must be less than 40 minutes. Films are not rated and may not be suitable for all audiences.

Here are this year’s nominees:

DOCUMENTARY

“The Elephant Whisperers” (India, 39 min.) This follows an indigenous couple as they fall in love with Raghu, an orphaned elephant given into their care, and tirelessly work to ensure his recovery and survival.

“Haulout” (UK/Russia, 25 min.) Follows a man waiting in his hut in the desolate expanse of the Russian Arctic, as he awaits a natural event that occurs there, every year, but ocean warming is taking its toll.

“How Do You Measure a Year?” (USA, 29 min.) For 17 years, filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt filmed his daughter Ella on her birthday in the same spot, asking the same questions. What results is a unique chance to watch time, and to see a young woman come into focus physically, mentally and emotionally.

“The Martha Mitchell Effect” (USA, 39 min.) This is an archival portrait of the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: Martha Mitchell, a Republican cabinet wife who was gaslighted by the Nixon Administration to keep her quiet. It offers a female gaze on Watergate through the voice of the woman herself.

“Stranger at the Gate” (USA, 30 min.) After 25 years of service, a US Marine filled with hatred for Muslims plots to bomb an Indiana mosque. When he comes face to face with the immigrants he seeks to kill, the story takes a twist toward compassion, grace and forgiveness.

LIVE ACTION

“An Irish Goodbye” (Ireland, 23 min.) On a farm in rural Northern Ireland, estranged brothers are forced to reunite following the untimely death of their mother.

“Ivalu” (Denmark, 16 min.) In a tight-knit community nestled somewhere in the vast, wind-swept landscapes of rugged Greenland, a young girl goes missing. Unable to understand, and with her indifferent father determined to go about his daily routine as usual, a girl plucks up the courage to embark on a peril-laden mission to find her missing sister.

“Le Pupille” (Italy/USA, 37 min.) From Academy Award-winning producer Alfonso Cuarón, this is a tale of innocence, greed and fantasy, about the anarchy that is capable of flowering in the minds of girls within the confines of a strict religious boarding school at Christmas.

“Night Ride” (Nattrikken) (Norway, 15 min.) On a cold night in December, a young girl waits for the tram, as an unexpected turn of events transforms the ride home into something she was not expecting.

“The Red Suitcase” (Luxembourg, 18 min.) A veiled 16-year-old Iranian girl is frightened to take her red suitcase on the automatic carpet in a Luxembourg airport. As she keeps pushing back the moment to go through the arrival gate, she gets more and more terrified.

ANIMATION

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” (UK, 34 min.) Follows the unlikely friendship of a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse as they explore the meaning of kindness, courage and hope.

“The Flying Sailor (Canada, 7 min.) In 1917, two ships collide in the Halifax Harbour, causing the largest accidental explosion in history. Among the tragic stories of the disaster is the account of a sailor who, blown skyward from the docks, flew a distance of two kilometers before landing uphill, naked and unharmed. This is a contemplation of his journey.

“Ice Merchants” (Portugal/United Kingdom/France, 14 min.) Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house that’s attached to a cliff to go to the village on the ground, where they sell the ice they produce daily.

“My Year of Dicks” (USA, 24 min.) An imaginative 15-year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early ‘90s.

“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It” (Australia, 11 min.) When a young telemarketer is confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, he learns that the universe is stop-motion animation. So he must put aside his dwindling toaster sales and focus on convincing his colleagues of his terrifying discovery.

SCREENING SCHEDULE

  • Saturday, March 4, all categories, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St.

  • Sunday, March 5, live action & animation, 1:15-4:45 p.m., Alford Branch Library, 3447 S. Meridian

  • Tuesday, March 7, live action & animation, 1-4:30 p.m., Westlink Branch Library, 8515 Bekemeyer

  • Tuesday, March 7, documentary, 6-9 p.m., Derby Public Library, 1600 E. Walnut Grove Road, Derby

  • Thursday, March 9, live action & animation, 1-4:30 p.m., Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St.

  • Thursday, March 9, documentary, 5-7:45 p.m., Evergreen Community Center and Library, 2601 N. Arkansas

  • Friday, March 10, documentary, 10:15 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St.

  • Saturday, March 11, all categories, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Advanced Learning Library, 711 W. Second St.

Reach Rod Pocowatchit at rodrick@rawdzilla.com .