2009 Oscar Nominated Short Films on Home Video

Lastly, here are links to the Oscar-nominated short films – documentary, live action, and animated – with links to their websites or IMDB entries if there are no film websites.

Among Oscar fans and critics, shorts often get short-shrift (sorry) because few know they exist, or where they can be seen or bought.

Most of the documentary shorts stem from HBO and might be in rotation right now on the cable station. The live action shorts are even harder to come by beyond IMDB listings, though maybe some of the filmmakers have them up on YouTube. (If so, the links below will be amended.)

Fans of animated shorts will have better luck since Nick Parks’ “A Matter of Loaf and Death” came out on DVD last fall, and both “French Toast” and “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” can be viewed as streaming videos at each film’s official website.

For fans wanting to check out prior nominated and award-winning shorts, there’s Magnolia’s three Oscar Shorts DVDs, each available separately, covering films from the years 2005, 2006, and 2007.

I think all that’s left are the Razzies, which should end this wave of awards for a while.

2009 82^nd Oscar Nominated Short Films


Best documentary short subject
"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province"
A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner"
A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant"
A Community Media Production Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
"Music by Prudence"
An iThemba Production Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
"Rabbit à la Berlin” / “Królik po berlinsku" (Deckert Distribution)
An MS Films Production Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Best live action short film
"The Door" (Network Ireland Television)
An Octagon Films Production Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
"Instead of Abracadabra" / "Istället för abrakadabra" (The Swedish Film Institute)
A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
"Kavi"
A Gregg Helvey Production Gregg Helvey
"Miracle Fish" (Premium Films)
A Druid Films Production Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
"The New Tenants"
A Park Pictures and M & M Production Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Best animated short film
"French Roast" --- site includes streaming of complete short
A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production Fabrice O. Joubert
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" --- site includes streaming of complete short A Brown Bag Films Production Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
"The Lady and the Reaper" / “La Dama y la Muerte"
A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production Javier Recio Gracia
"Logorama" / “Autour de Minuit”
An Autour de Minuit Production Nicolas Schmerkin
"A Matter of Loaf and Death" (Aardman Animations) --- available on DVD
An Aardman Animations Production Nick Park

- MRH