It’s been an eventful week for directors Lucy Walker and Grant Orchard as both have seen their short films not only earn Academy Award nominations on Tuesday morning (see separate SHOOT Oscars rundown), but also that evening garner jury prizes at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Their parallel universe also includes Walker’s film, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, having been produced by the company that handles her for commercials and branded content, bicoastal Supply & Demand Integrated, while Orchard’s short, A Morning Stroll, too was produced by his spotmaking roost, Studio AKA in London.
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom picked up the Sundance Jury Prize in Short Film, Non-Fiction. A visual haiku and a story of survival, this short film documents the resurrection of life in Japan following the triple disaster of a devastating earthquake which triggered a tsunami as well as a nuclear radiation crisis.
“I think the film is about life and death and truth and beauty,” said Walker upon accepting the award. She was flustered by the remarkable events of the day, “I got nominated for an Academy Award and I got carded here,” she joked.
Walker’s short was shot by DP Aaron Phillips, who’s handled by The Skouras Agency, and edited by Aki Mizutani of Cutters Editorial.
As for A Morning Stroll, it won the Sundance Jury Prize in Animated Short Film. The short centers on a New Yorker walking past a chicken on his morning stroll, leaving us to wonder which one is the real city slicker.
The other five short film Jury Prize winners at Sundance were:
o Fishing Without Nets /USA, which took the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking. (Director: Cutter Hodierne, Screenwriters: Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey) — A story of pirates in Somalia, told from the perspective of the pirates themselves. Said the Short Film Jury of the film, “By approaching a story of epic scope with an intimate perspective, this visually stunning film creates a rare, inside point of view that humanizes a global story.”
o The Black Balloon / U.S.A. won The Jury Prize in Short Film, U.S. Fiction. (Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie) — The Black Balloon strays from the herd and experiences what life as an individual is like. He explores New York City in the deepest way, seeing all of its characters.
o The Return (Kthimi) / Kosovo copped the Jury Prize in Short Film, International Fiction. (Director: Blerta Zeqiri, Screenwriter: Shefqet Gjocaj) — A man comes back from a Serb prison to his wife and son. Much has changed since he was declared missing and continuing where they left off four years ago may not be as easy as it seems.
o The Arm / U.S.A. won the Special Jury Award for Comedic Storytelling. (Directors and screenwriters: Brie Larson, Sarah Ramos, Jessie Ennis) — In an attempt to keep up with social pressure in a technologically advanced world, Chance starts a texting relationship with Genevieve, a girl he meets at a yogurt shop.
o Robots of Brixton / United Kingdom earned the Special Jury Award for Animation Direction. (Director: Kibwe Tavares) — The trials and tribulations of young robots surviving at the sharp end of inner city life, living the predictable existence of a populous hemmed in by poverty, disillusionment and mass unemployment.
Select company
These seven shorts are in select company, pointed out Trevor Groth, director of programming for the Sundance Film Festival.
“The explosion of interest in the short form is evidenced by the record number of short films submitted to this year’s Festival,” said Groth. “Our shorts programming team as well as audiences at the Festival have been struck by the depth of quality and uncompromised voices present in these stories from around the world. Our esteemed jury selected seven winners from a field of 64 that represent a talented group of artists who are sure to continue pushing the limits of creative filmmaking.”
Stars Among Those Who Lost Their Homes In L.A. Area Fires; Jamie Lee Curtis Pledges $1M To Relief Effort
Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Jeff Bridges, and R&B star Jhené Aiko, and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events. Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week's Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city's most famous denizens. Thousands of structures have been destroyed but damage assessments are just beginning. More than 180,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt. Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards. That fire had been largely contained without damage to Hollywood landmarks. Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry: Stars whose homes have burned in the fires Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost. The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years. "Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can't be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this," the Crystals wrote in the statement. After her learning her Pacific Palisades home was lost in the fires, Melissa Rivers says she was... Read More