Abandon Your "Best Picture" Binge and Check-Out the Short Films

Short stories have been one of my favorite genres for the past few years. When you have to reduce an entire narrative down to just a few pages the result is often poignant and striking. Each word holds so much more weight, each phrase is crafted meticulously, each development has extreme magnitude.

This past weekend I saw the five Oscar-nominated short live action films. It was my first time exploring this genre, and I was hoping for the same intensity of emotions, compact and in a rush, that short stories allow. The two hours in the theatre jumbled my brain and spit me out in such a hodgepodge of emotions that the entire walk home I didn’t even know how I felt. Scenes kept flashing back: vivid landscapes and piercing emotions, imaginative sequences and harrowing real-world violence. I am still captivated by their power days later.

Here are five reasons why you should stop your Best Picture watching frenzy, and take two hours to cry within the first 25 minutes and end the last 10 minutes full-on belly laughing.

"Helium" photo courtesy of Palavra Tela

1.     Sometimes a whimsical, childlike version of reality is much more striking when it comes to talking about what happens after death. Similar to the moment when Kate Winslet walks into Never Never Land in “Finding Neverland,” the Danish short “Helium” transports us to a magical and captivating version of heaven that will allow you to find hope in the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital. Helium, Denmark

2.     The horror of human destruction and manipulation of power (in this case child soldiers) is all the more chilling and haunting in a 24-minute snapshot of three people and the choices they make when faced with a violent reality most of us just read about.  Aquel no era yo (That wasn’t me), Spain

3.     The small, piercing realities of abusive marriages are too-often ignored. This French short won’t let you forget the striking impact abuse has on the entire family. Avant que de tout perdre (Just before losing everything), France

4.     Absurdist pieces can be enlightening. Sometimes. The Voorman Project, U.K.

5.     Laughing-out-loud for minutes on end with everyone else in the theatre is a very rare experience. You should have it. Do I have to take care of everything?, Finland