Everything You Need To Know About The Oscar-Nominated Short Films
A lot of people haven’t seen the Best Picture nominees this year, so we can assume that possibly no one — maybe not even Academy members themselves — has seen the short films. But there’s still time!

Starting Jan. 30, the recognized titles will play in over 350 venues across the U.S. and Canada. Check out the full list and head to the theater, or just wait for them to be on VOD in February (because, let’s be real, you’re not getting off your couch):

Live Action

“Aya”
“Aya” tells the story of two strangers who meet at an airport when a man mistakes a woman for his chauffeur, and she is so intrigued she goes along with it. Basically, Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun’s short is the closest thing to a rom-com we could expect to be nominated for an Oscar this year: a serendipitous meet-cute, except understated and with subtitles.

AYA – Short Film – Official trailer from Oded Binnun עודד בן נון on Vimeo.

“Boogaloo and Graham”
In 1978 Belfast, a father gives his sons, Jamesy and Malachy, two chicks, Boogaloo and Graham. They become vegetarians, make plans to start a chicken farm and just generally grow obsessed to their pets (in part, through a montage set to “Why Do Fools Fall In Love?”), before having to grapple with the way their family is about to change.

Boogaloo and Graham Trailer from Out of Orbit on Vimeo.

“Butter Lamp” (“La lampe au beurre de yak”)
A photographer and his assistant photograph Tiebetan nomads against an unexpected mix of backgrounds (from The Great Wall to Disney World) for a mesmerizing look at cultural dissonance.

The Butter Lamp (Trailer) from Mostra Ecofalante on Vimeo.

“Parvaneh”
“Parvanah” follows an Afghan immigrant as she travels to Zurich and explores an unlikely friendship.

PARVANEH – Trailer from hiddenframe on Vimeo.

“The Phone Call”
In this 21-minute short, a shy telephone operator works a help line and receives a call that changes the way she sees the world. The foreboding tone combined with English accents of Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent may leave you wishing it was a “Black Mirror” episode. Although, “The Phone Call” is much more sentimental than anything going on in Charlie Brooker’s head.

The Phone Call Trailer from Lizzy Graham on Vimeo.

Animated

“A Single Life”
A two-minute look at the phases of life that could easily work as the opener for the next Pixar film.

A SINGLE LIFE – TRAILER from Job, Joris & Marieke on Vimeo.

“Feast”
With “Feast,” “Paperman” head of animation Patrick Osborne takes on a simple yet touching premise: a man’s life as told through the meals he shares with his dog.

“Me and My Moulton”
Remember “Arthur”? There are no anthropomorphic aardvarks in “Me and My Moulton.” The similarities ring true in the deadpan educational vibes with which director Torill Kove walks through a Norwegian girl’s life, as she grows up and learns to appreciate her family despite their shortcomings.

Me and My Moulton – Official Trailer – English version from Mikrofilm AS on Vimeo.

“The Bigger Picture”
In “The Bigger Picture” an eerie mix of stop motion and life-sized painting is used to depict the dark comedy that is caring for an elderly mother.

The Bigger Picture Trailer from daisy jacobs on Vimeo.

“The Dam Keeper”
Somehow, the beautiful animation in Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi’s short makes the unfamiliar story of “The Dam Keeper” — a precocious pig tasked with keeping “the darkness” away — feel like your most beloved childhood storybook come to life.

Documentary

“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
“Crisis Hotline” takes on the trauma of veterans through the lens of the crisis hotline’s trained responders. Sort of like if “The Waiting Room” went with a different American inadequacy, and took on the veteran care in place of the health-care crisis.

“Joanna”
This 40-minute film is a gorgeous look at a mother’s final moments with her son as she faces an untreatable illness. There is no in-depth explanation of what Joanna is dealing with. No heavy confessional interviews. Just a glimpses at a parent-child bond, cherished as it ought to be (but often isn’t) sans extenuating circumstances. “Joanna” is as heartwarming as it is poetic. And director Aneta Kopacz refuses to wallow, reflecting the beauty in Joanna’s story with as much intensity as its inherent sadness.

JOANNA TRAILER ENG from Wajda Studio on Vimeo.

“Our Curse”
“Our Curse” functions as a personal statement from director Tomasz Sliwinski and his wife. Over 40 minutes, the two grapple with the reality of the fact that their son was born with Ondine’s Curse (congenital central hypoventilation syndrome or CCHS), a disease which will likely leave him dependent on a ventilator for the remainder of his life. “I forget I have a child,” she says one night, looking hollowed-out over a glass of wine, during one of the many confessionals throughout the film. Here we have a raw form of parental anguish, disturbing if only because of how rarely it is seen outside of closed doors.

NASZA KLĄTWA / OUR CURSE (trailer) from Tomasz Śliwiński on Vimeo.

“The Reaper”
In “The Reaper,” a longtime slaughterhouse worker (hence the subtle title) faces his own relationship with death in light of his gruesome surroundings. “The animals just came in and stared at me,” he says, recounting a dream against a montage of bloodied cow bodies and steel. “They said, ‘It’s your turn.'”

La Parka / The Reaper trailer from CCCMexico on Vimeo.

“White Earth”
“White Earth” could have easily folded out into a feature-length film, though it benefitted from zooming in where it did. This documentary depicts the families of the (mostly) men who uproot their lives to work on the oil rigs in North Dakota. Director J. Christian Jensen spends almost no time with the men themselves, opting for an unflinching look at what life looks like for the people closest to them instead.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/oscar-nominated-short-films_n_6549992.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

LGBT Rights Activists and ‘Supporters of Religious Freedom’ Face Off in Idaho Hearing on Non-Discrimination Bill: VIDEO

Sean Mandell

www.towleroad.com/2015/01/lgbt-rights-activists-and-supporters-of-religious-freedom-face-off-in-idaho-hearing-on-non-discrimin.html

No Sex? No Problem

The USA Network series Sirens, a wacky workplace comedy, wants to make you laugh while respectfully representing varying races, sexualities, and identities.

read more

Michelle Garcia

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/television/2015/01/27/no-sex-no-problem

Lesbian Lawmaker Threatens To Out Adulterous Officials Opposed To Marriage Equality

As an out lesbian, Alabama State Rep. Paticia Todd was probably not the most popular in the state legislature. She’s even less so now. In the wake of a federal court ruling last week striking down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, Todd has decided to pull out all the stops to defend the ruling. In a posting on her Facebook page, Todd is threatening to tell the names of colleagues who oppose marriage equality while engaging in adultery.

“I will not stand by and allow legislators to talk about ‘family values’ when they have affairs, and I know of many who are and have,” Todd wrote. “I will call our elected officials who want to hide in the closet out.”

Just in case she wasn’t clear, Todd told the TimesDaily that “it is pretty well known that we have people in Montgomery who are or have had affairs.”

At a public event on Monday, Todd told followers that she was aware of the consequences. “Many of you know that I have thrown the gauntlet down to my elected peers that should they decide to go and spout family value that I’m going to call them out,” Todd said. “I’m willing to jeopardize my political campaign to do it. This is the fight of our life. This is why I ran for office.”

Todd’s opponents are used to having their own way. Seems they have met their match at long last.

JohnGallagher

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Op-ed: Madonna, My Father, and a Life Outside a Tiny Island

Madonna may have a new album, but playing it makes one writer nostalgic over her music’s support through a rocky relationship with his dad.

read more

Damon Gonzalez

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/01/27/op-ed-madonna-my-father-and-life-outside-tiny-island

Olympia Dukakis On Gay Fans, Feisty Lesbians And Her Need To Speak Out Against Homophobia

Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis has long been a favorite among gay audiences. Not only has she starred in films and miniseries we love (Steel Magnolias, Moonstruck, Tales of the City), she’s stood up to religious organizations on our behalf, and she’s not afraid to butch it up onscreen. On top of that, she’s a no-nonsense woman who says it like she sees it.

In Big Driver, she plays Doreen, a character in a series of mystery books who’s very much alive in the mind of the writer, played by Maria Bello. Based on a Stephen King short story, the movie takes a very dark turn when the writer is brutally assaulted by a serial killer and decides to take matters into her own hands, with much encouragement and (sometimes awkward) comic relief from Doreen.

Queerty spoke to Dukakis about the film, her first exposure to the gay community, women in Hollywood, and her transgender awakening.

Queerty: Big Driver is a film about courage, determination, and eye-for-an-eye justice. What drew you to the project?

Olympia Dukakis: I thought there was a lot of humor in it. At least there was in my character. And I’ve always liked Maria Bello’s work and admired her.

The story has some pretty disturbing elements. At any point were you concerned that Doreen’s humor might be deemed inappropriate?

Yeah, that’s what I liked about it. I like that it kind of walks the line.

Do you ultimately see it as an uplifting story or a tragic one?

I see it as a story with contradictions. That’s what’s interesting about it. Because you can look at this and think, Why doesn’t she go to the police? There are different ways of handling this. And then on the other hand you can think, At a certain point, people want the satisfaction of this. They’re sick of being pushed around. Especially women. It has those contradictions, and I tend to like things with contradictions instead of things that get resolved neatly.

You’ve long been admired by the gay community, perhaps because you often play strong female characters like Clairee in Steel Magnolias. Why do you think that film had such an impact on gay men?

You know how many people have asked me that question?

Too many?

Since we did that in the late ’80s, it’s gotta be thirty people or so. I wish I had an answer to it.

I suspect a lot of gay men want insert themselves into that amazing group of women and join the party. Was that all acting, or was there a genuine chemistry and camaraderie among all of you?

There were times when it was acting and there were times when the camaraderie was really present. You know, you look at these women at the beginning and they’re all involved in their hair and keeping up their houses, and you don’t realize until the movie goes on that they’re capable of profound friendship. And really being there for each other — and sometimes saying the hard things to each other. That may be what’s also true in the gay community. Any group of people that is judged and defined, somehow showing its own colors makes those people in the community feel acknowledged and appreciated.

In Cloudburst, you played a feisty, truck-driving lesbian who loves to shock people by throwing around the “c” word. Did you base your character on anyone in particular?

No, it was in Thom Fitzgerald’s writing. I didn’t base it on anything. I think if you ask him this question, he’ll say he based it on me. I don’t know whether that’s a compliment or an insult, but there you go. [Laughs]

Last year, you were very public in your response to the orthodox church of Cyprus lashing out against gay pride. Is homophobia as big a problem in Greek culture as it is in American culture?

I’m not someone to speak with authority in terms of that kind of defining and interpretation. I just know that I found the response of the Greek church on Cyprus really lacking in humanity, really lacking in an understanding of what gay people have to confront. The church is, I think, upset with me. And I know there are people here in this country that don’t like that I did that.

Does that bother you? Or do you think it’s more important to speak out?

I don’t go out of my way to insult or diminish people or organizations. But I do feel that when people speak that way — the way the church behaved — it’s important to say something. I have no desire to malign the church but I thought it was important for people to know that there are others in the Greek community that don’t share that point of view.

Of all the roles you’ve played, you’ve said that Anna Madrigal from Tales of the City is among your favorites. What is it about her that meant so much to you?

She fought so hard and paid such a price to be authentic. She struggled for that and she arrived. We all strive to do that. And sometimes in doing that there are prices to pay. I had a very interesting conversation at the time. I told the producers that I’d read about these [gender reassignment] operations. There were only two biographies out at the time. But I said, “I’ve got to talk to somebody who’s been through this experience. I feel so distanced from it.” So, while we were in San Francisco, they introduced me to a woman who had been a man and who was a gender therapist — she was actually a therapist counseling people with these issues. She came to my apartment. She was, like, six-three with enormous hands, a soft voice, and a lovely figure. She walked in, we sat down to have coffee, and I said, “Tell me, what was it that was so important to you” — this is how naïve and uninformed I was — “that made it possible for you to go through this transition which is really physically difficult and painful?” And she said to me, “All my life I yearned for the friendship of women.” I don’t know what the hell I expected but I did not expect that. She wanted to connect with women because that’s what she was. She wanted to be true to who she was, and she had been denied that intimacy of friendship. I just started to cry. She put my head in such a different space, a place that I understood and knew as a human being. I didn’t have to go through what she was going through. She helped me see that. And it made doing that film so personal.

Do you recall having a similar awakening in regards to gay and lesbian people?

I had no experience with gay or lesbian people — at least consciously or with any awareness — when I was in college. I graduated and was a physical therapist and worked with polio patients for a couple of years. I saved my money, went back to school, and almost the first friend I made at graduate school was a gay man. Bernie. He was my buddy. He was so smart. He was a Fulbright Scholar and so talented as a director. In New York, we were very close. I got involved and started to know the gay community at a time when things were quite different. After Stonewall he left New York. Said he couldn’t take it anymore. He went someplace with his partner and ran a theater. He eventually died of AIDS. He was smart as hell and very helpful to me. And very eager to be part of my success. So, that was it for me.

There’s always talk about how Hollywood doesn’t provide good roles for women after a certain age. Do you agree with that sentiment?

Listen, Hollywood is a business. They’re not in the business of making anybody’s life comfortable. They’re not in the business of promoting the arts. At least I would say ninety percent of them. So, if it’s a business, they’ve got to look at where they think they’re gonna make the buck. Who goes to the movies the most in our country? Do you know?

Young men?

Young men, white, between, like, 16 and 34. Something like that. They go to the movies. And they see the movies several times. And they not only go to the movie theater, they’ll buy the DVD. These are the people that are going to bring in the money. And so they’re looking to make their product interesting.

Big Driver is definitely interesting. Is there anything else you’d like to say about it?

I had a good time shooting it and I enjoyed meeting Maria Bello. I think she’s fabulous.

Big Driver is now available on DVD. Watch the trailer below.

Winston Gieseke

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