2023 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation
Run Time: 95 min.
Celebrate Awards Season at Gateway Film Center
As part of Awards Season at the Film Center each year, we are thrilled to present the Academy Award-nominated shorts program featuring the year’s most spectacular Animation, Documentary, and Live Action short films.
The 2023 Awards Gala at Gateway Film Center is on Sunday, March 12! Join us as we raise our glasses with our community in celebration of the year’s best films and most important filmmakers. Register here.
Animated Short Film – The Nominees
From 81 total qualifying films, these five are nominees in the Animated Short Film category for the 95th Academy Awards. Announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday, March 12, the winner is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse from Directors Peter Baynton and Charlie Mackesy.
Please note: the final film in this program is intended for adult audiences and is not suitable for children.
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It
Director Lachlan Pendragon
When a young telemarketer is confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, he learns that the universe is stop motion animation. He must put aside his dwindling toaster sales and focus on convincing his colleagues of his terrifying discovery.
“The film is quite literally a timelapse of what I did for a year.”
Country: Australia
Language: English
Runtime: 11 min
The Flying Sailor
Directors Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby
In 1917, two ships collided in the Halifax Harbour, causing the largest accidental explosion in history. Among the tragic stories of the disaster is the remarkable account of a sailor who, blown skyward from the docks, flew a distance of two kilometres before landing uphill, naked and unharmed. The Flying Sailor is a contemplation of his journey.
“The Flying Sailor emerged from our continued interest in combining narrative form with abstraction.”
Country: Canada
Language: None
Runtime: 7 min
Ice Merchants
Director João Gonzalez
Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.
“Ice Merchants is a family drama set in an impossible reality, brought to life with the collaboration of the most amazingly talented and hardworking team of artists that I could have asked for.”
Country: Portugal, France, United Kingdom
Language: None
Runtime: 14 min
Winner, Best Short Film (Animated)
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Directors Peter Baynton, Charlie Mackesy
A story of kindness, courage, and hope in traditional hand-drawn animation, following the unlikely friendship of the title characters as as they journey together, in the boy’s search for home. Based on Mackesy’s book of the same name.
“It was a dream to see the book and the characters come alive, to take the story further and perhaps help more people feel loved and less alone.”
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Runtime: 35 min
My Year of Dicks
Director Sara Gunnarsdóttir
An imaginative fifteen year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early 90’s. Created by Pamela Ribon from her critically-acclaimed memoir.
“My approach to animation has always been focused on peoples’ emotions, and Pamela’s writing opened up a door to work with her teenage consciousness from a deeply personal perspective.”
Country: United States
Language: English
Runtime: 25 min
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