The Live-Action Short Film Blockbuster - Awards Outlook
Awards analysis is provided by Sean from @MathTeacherMovies.
The Live-Action Short Film Blockbuster
Some of the least ventured categories of the Oscars every year are the Short Film categories. As these films are not exactly blockbusters and are usually not easily accessed by general audiences, they aren’t really as well known.
However, this year the race is taking a much more interesting turn with two short films already beginning to make waves from high profile filmmakers.
The first is Pedro Almadovar’s Strange Way of Life which is a gay Cowboy romance starring past Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, who is having quite a moment. Almadovar also has a great track record for the awards. While it will be available on the less-popular Mubi streaming service, it has already and will continue to make waves on the festival circuit, likely gaining some face-time with Academy voters.
The other film is The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar from Wes Anderson which is going to be on Netflix. Being on the streamer will help it with campaigning, but also it being a Wes Anderson film helps its chances as he is a popular director who has traveled the awards circuit before (plus he has a beloved film that released this same year in Asteroid City). The film is also based on a famous property from Ronald Dahl which could also help in the popularity.
While these films make the race exciting, it is also a bit of a shame as this category is usually reserved for lesser-known filmmakers that end up getting a chance to be put in the spotlight, such as Martin McDonagh for his short film Six Shooter. These categories have already been dominated by high profile streaming services which causes the little guy to get kicked out more often. Regardless, this will be a very interesting year for a much lesser known Oscar race.