This year's crop of films is more optimistic than other recent years. I have remembered years where coming out of watching them you'd be filled with sadness and dread. But this group provides a lot to smile about. I found myself laughing often during these films. There is some pain and loss expressed here, and they give us a lot to think about, but there is also hope in these films.
Animated
Butterfly
Painted like a watercolour, Butterfly is a holocaust story, and a story of loss and survival. The story is sparse in it's telling, letting the emotion and visuals drive home its message. It is easily the most gorgeous of the group nominated this year.
Forevergreen
Forevergreen is animated to have the feel of stop motion. The story, reminiscent of The Giving Tree is about maturing and and sacrifice. It is, for me, perhaps the slightest of the five nominated films, but it is still charming in its way.
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Pearls is actually stop motion and its set design and puppetry are intricately amazing. The story is clever with some twists and very adult themes about what is truly valuable. It presents perhaps the most complicated of the narratives of the five nominated films.
Retirement Plan
Clever and sharp, Retirement Plan is the shortest of this crop of five films. Domhnall Gleeson narrates the thoughts/wishes of a middle aged man looking towards retirement. It is funny and impactful in its brief run time and might be my favourite in the end, maybe because it feels the closest to home for me.
The Three Sisters
Visually original with its hand drawn animation the film follows three sisters (twist!) who live on a small island when a sailor arrives and uproots their existence. It is quite humorous but also sweet and a lovely little bit of cinema.
Documentary
All The Empty Rooms
Following a journalist and photographer who take pictures of the bedrooms of children who've been killed in school shootings, this film is a powerful testament to the humans these children were and the families they have left behind.
Armed With Only a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
This is the story of photojournalist Brent Renaud, who survived many war zones to bring the story of war to those unaffected, only to finally give the ultimate sacrifice while covering the war in Ukraine. The film highlights the dangerous but important work photojournalists do.
Children No More: Were and Are Gone
This powerful story of Israelis who protest their country's war in Palestine by holding silent vigils for the children killed in the way by the Israeli army. They face the verbal harassment and threats of physical violence of their fellow citizens yet stand firm in their commitment to ending genocide being committed in their name.
The Devil is Busy
This film is a day in the life of an abortion clinic in Atlanta. We get a personal look at the people who work there and their dedication to providing this service despite hateful protests outside and discriminatory laws that limit their ability to help those coming to them.
Perfectly a Strangeness
The most oddball of the this group of five films, and perhaps the only one that isn't struggling with how horrible the world is, Perfectly a Strangeness follows three donkeys who come across an observatory and, well... that's a good question. It is rather strange film that doesn't wear its point on its sleeve but is beautiful in a quiet way and does bring into question the definition of what a documentary can be.
Live Action
Butcher's Stain
The most grounded of the group. this short film takes a fairly straight forward problem that may be not be as familiar to western audiences, and sets it out for us in a way that makes complete sense. It is powerful in its transparency.
A Friend of Dorothy
This one was easily my favourite of the bunch with a delightful yet sensitive performance by Miriam Margolyes. The story is incredibly simple yet it is done so effectively it feels fresh. You will smile all the through.
Jane Austin Period Drama
This feels like an elevated SNL skit. Parodying the sort of films the title references with its sharp and truly hilarious script, the film plays with words and our cultural assumptions about menstruation in fun and nonthreatening ways for a light but very entertaining time.
The Singers
The Singers is a surprisingly touching upending of masculine tropes. It may be the only film I felt was cut off too short.
Two People Exchanging Saliva
The darkest of the group, this French film's critique is not explicit yet it feels more visceral. It presents a world slightly different yet tied to our own discomfort with sexuality. It remains somewhat ambiguous yet still makes a point that is fascinating to think about.
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