Starting Friday, the historic Tampa Theater will show all the best Oscar nominees for short films, including animated films, documentaries and live action. This all leads up to their big Oscar night on March 27, one of the few theaters allowed to carry the live telecast.
In the past, the 96-year-old movie palace has shown all the top Oscar nominees. But due to the tight schedule of this year’s Oscars calendar and the fact that the cinema has already shown most of the best feature films, they have decided to focus on Oscar-nominated shorts, a spokeswoman said.
The collection of five Oscar-nominated live-action shorts includes In my thoughts, an 18-minute Danish film in which a man wants to sing a song for his wife. “It has to be today, it has to be now. It’s a matter of life, death and karaoke,” said the promo for the film. Also, the futuristic Please wait, in which a prisoner must navigate the labyrinthine, computerized bureaucracy of the privatized American justice system, in search of a real human being who can make things right.
Usually filled with dark stories, this year’s list of documentary shorts is considered one of the most uplifting collections. He understands When we were bullies, a 36-minute film about the mind-blowing coincidence that leads the filmmaker to reunite with his fifth grade class and teacher to examine their memory of a bullying incident 50 years ago. And from Afghanistan, the winner Three songs for Benazir reveals how Afghans today live, love each other and seek space for themselves in a context of constant instability.
And animated collections include robin robin, the story of a little bird whose unhatched egg falls out of the nest and falls into the trash can. “She comes out of her shell, in more ways than one, and is adopted by a loving family of mouse burglars,” the producers write. And in art business, director Joanna Quinn and screenwriter Les Mills continue their series of award-winning British animated films starring Beryl, a 59-year-old factory worker obsessed with drawing. They may be animated films, but many in the collection are not intended for children, the theater warns.
Live Action Shorts
The collection of live-action shorts will premiere at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Monday, and March 3, as well as 5:15 p.m. on March 5, 3 p.m. on March 6, and 7:30 p.m. on March 9.
Although there are a variety of films, this program of shorts is considered rated R for language and depictions of adult themes and violence.
Short documentaries
The documentary collection will be presented at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 7 p.m. on March 1 and 4; at 1:45 p.m. on March 5 and at 7 p.m. on March 7.
Note that while this program is unrated, it should be treated as a PG-13 equivalent, the theater says.
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Animated short films
The collection of animated shorts will premiere at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and 7 p.m. on March 2, 8 p.m. on March 5, 6 p.m. on March 6, and 7:30 p.m. on March 8.
The theater warns that although these shorts are animated, they are not intended for children and should be considered rated R for depictions of nudity, adult themes, disturbing imagery and extreme violence.
Tickets are $11.50, $9.50 for ages 3-12 at the theater at 711 N Franklin St., Tampa, or online at tampatheatre.org.