Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center

Don’t Sell These Films Short!

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This week we bring you a longer list than usual, but we don’t think we’re telling any tall tales when we say that these shorts are worth the few minutes it takes to watch them. Some of our picks are documentaries, others brief but sweet stories. Some are animated, while others are live-action. You may have seen some already on the big screen in our annual showing of Oscar nominated short films, or maybe they’re completely new to you. In any case, we’ve got a condensed cinematic vision for everyone!
 
P.S. – If you aren’t already following Short of the Week, be sure to check it out. SotW showcases curated shorts every Monday and Thursday.

The Present

In an effort to get her son to play outside, his mother has bought him a present: a puppy. However, the puppy is missing a leg and the boy is disgusted by it. Will the lovable dog be able to win him over?

Based on a comic strip by Fabio Coala, The Present is a four minute long short that ran on over 180 film festivals and won more than 50 awards.

Period. End of Sentence.

In rural India, where the stigma of menstruation persists, women make low-cost sanitary pads on a new machine and stride toward financial independence. (25 minutes)

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject), 91st Academy Awards.

Negative Space

An Oscar-nominated short film animation that depicts a father-and-son relationship through the art of packing a suitcase, this five minute short is based off a Ron Koertge poem.

San Miguel

In order to heal her grieving mother, a devout 9 year old girl pushes her faith to its limit in hopes of divine intervention. (Spanish, 19 minutes)

Bao

A Chinese mother, sad when her grown son leaves home, gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy. Mom excitedly welcomes this new bundle of joy into her life, but Dumpling starts growing up fast, and Mom must face the bittersweet truth that nothing stays cute and small forever.

The Phone Call

This Oscar-award winning short film follows Heather (Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water, Blue Jasmine), a shy lady who works at a helpline call center. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever.

Winner of Best Short Film, Live Action at the Academy Awards. Winner of Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Hair Love

Hair Love, an Oscar®-winning animated short film from Matthew A. Cherry, tells the heartfelt story of an African American father learning to do his daughter’s hair for the first time.

Delivery Boy

Hard-working Chunho delivers dumplings to fancy apartments in Hong Kong. Among his deliveries, he pines for the cute British expat who seems not to notice him whenever he shows up with his steaming package. But just when things start to look romantic for these two, class differences threaten to get in the way.

Aizu

In March of 2011, the island of Japan was devastated by the fourth largest earthquake in history. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami resulted in the complete meltdown of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear powerplant. A nuclear catastrophe of this scale has not been seen since Chernobyl and the effects are still being felt today. Aizu tells the story of the disaster through the eyes of local snowboarders, Futa and Hiroki, and shows how snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding are central to this vibrant and resilient community as they continue to rebuild.

Salam

Salam (Hana Chamoun) is a Lyft driver from a tight knit family. A portion of her family lives in Syria. When her New York based family gets word of a bombing in Syria, it’s a waiting game to know if their loved ones are ok.To rest her nerves, Salam decides to go to work. She picks up Audrey (Leslie Bibb), who seems to be in distress herself. The exchange that follows is a layered interaction of surface expectations versus what’s really underneath the surface of our daily lives.Nominated for Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival and at the London Film Festival.

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