What’s up good people?! Itsashort.com is happy to bring to you a special Oscars edition of our weekly roundup, including the short films that took home the hardware.

From the moment Chris Rock took the stage with that blazing opening monologue, we knew the proceedings were going to be lit.

And boy we were right.

Leo finally got one – finally!!

.@SamsungMobileUS presents Leo's Best Actor #Oscars acceptance speech!https://t.co/4LDPWoVSKv

— ABC Network (@ABCNetwork) February 29, 2016

“Spotlight” snagged the award for Best Picture, and Mad Max: Fury Road took home six Oscars (!!!!) for everything from Costume Design to Film Editing.

All that aside, we were especially ecstatic for the short films that won big on Sunday night: “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” for Documentary (Short Subject), “Bear Story” for Short Film (Animated) and “Stutterer” for Short Film (Live Action).

A Girl in the River, a moving short about a Pakistani woman who survives an honor killing, got quite the presentation by comedian Louis C.K.

“These people—this is documentary short film,” he said. “It’s not even documentary feature…You cannot make a dime on this. These people will never be rich for as long as they live. So this Oscar means something. All they do is tell stories that are important.”

Indeed. It was a scathing yet honest assessment: short films, largely unloved by the public, are a potent vehicle for telling important stories. On Sunday, all three shorts got their proper due.

Bear Story made a little history of its own as the first Chilean film to be nominated in the animated short category.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bear Story is a profound work that cuts deeper than your typical animated film:

To viewers outside Chile, it’s a sad story about a separated family; to those familiar with the country’s horrific history under former dictator Augusto Pinochet, it’s a metaphor for the way that regime destroyed families. Director Gabriel Osorio has said the story was inspired by real events involving his grandfather.

Check out the trailer below:

And finally, some well-deserved plaudits for the British film “Stutterer,” a short that has been racking up on the awards circuit over the past year. The premise? A man who stutters is about to meet a woman in person that he has only spoken to online.

What’s amazing about this work – written, directed and edited by Benjamin Cleary – is that it truly embodies the term “independent film” in almost every way imaginable:

“Stutterer” is Cleary’s first short film and it proudly represents the independent filmmaking spirit. Its production was a true labor of love that had only a couple thousand dollars to bring it all together and relied on the filmmaker and his team’s willingness to go to great lengths to bring it to fruition.

So while the Oscars diversity controversy dominated the night, three very diverse offerings, each telling meaningful stories, were recognized for their unparalleled excellence.

That’s something we can all celebrate.

 

Intimate Portrait, Global Crisis

Our spotlight short film of the week is “Growing Home,” a trenchant work about a displaced barber who struggles to live a normal life with his young family at the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan.

The conditions are dire and completely heartbreaking, and the daily distractions are ongoing. It is a potent, yet intimate portrait of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. It is one of those short films that will make American viewers dismiss the daily inconveniences they experience. To view the trailer for the film you can register at itsashort.com.

Our Mission

Itsashort.com is a platform for filmmakers and creators the world over. We love short films. Plus, we at itsashort.com want to introduce audiences to award-winning and award-nominated artists who create movies, web series and videos. Check out itsashort.com and register to see the wonderful work of these creatives here.