Category: Film Review

Academy Awards, Animation Short, Awards Season, Film Business, Film Review, Films, Oscars, Short Film

Oscar Nominated: Tears That Turn to Treasure The Dark Fairytale Beauty of The Girl Who Cried Pearls

The Girl Who Cried Pearls is a darkly lyrical animated short that unfolds like a cautionary fairy tale passed down through generations, its beauty inseparable from its cruelty. Directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, the film tells a haunting story of grief and devotion, centred on a young girl whose overwhelming sorrow manifests in an extraordinary and unsettling way. Each tear she sheds becomes … Continue reading Oscar Nominated: Tears That Turn to Treasure The Dark Fairytale Beauty of The Girl Who Cried Pearls

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Academy Awards, Film Review

How Bold Storytelling Continues to Reward Oscar Nominee Eirik Tveiten

Camping in Paradise is the kind of short film that reminds the industry why the format remains essential. Directed by Oscar nominee Eirik Tveiten, the film takes what initially appears to be a light, comedic premise and shapes it into a finely observed character study about vulnerability, intimacy, and the subtle power dynamics within relationships. Set in a nudist campsite, the film risks a premise that … Continue reading How Bold Storytelling Continues to Reward Oscar Nominee Eirik Tveiten

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Film Review, Oscars

OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES: CAFUNÈ Is a Heart wrenching Ballad of Resilience

CAFUNÈ is an animated short film that transcends the boundaries of its medium, offering an experience that is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Directed by Carlos F. de Vigo and Lorena Ares, this deeply affecting film takes audiences into the emotional world of a young refugee girl named Alma, who is struggling to come to terms with the trauma of being the sole survivor of a devastating … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES: CAFUNÈ Is a Heart wrenching Ballad of Resilience

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Film Review

OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker “Daood grew up in the eastern Syrian desert and lived through the ISIS regime”

With their short film WALUD ولود, co-directors Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker have crafted one of the most arresting and quietly unsettling works to emerge from the international festival circuit this year. Recently qualified for the 2026 Academy Awards, the film continues to gather momentum as it screens at Oscar®-qualifying festivals including Santa Fe, Aesthetica, Norwich, FeFF and EnergaCAMERIMAGE. Set in the rural Syrian desert during the height of ISIS control, … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker “Daood grew up in the eastern Syrian desert and lived through the ISIS regime”

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Academy Awards, Animation Short, Documentary, Documentary Short, Film Review

OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES – Inside, The Valley Sings: A Visceral, Beautiful Cry from Within the Walls

In an era when issue‑driven documentary cinema often teeters between advocacy and art, Nathan Fagan’s Inside, The Valley Sings stands out as a work of rare ambition and emotional clarity. With this animated documentary he offers us not merely a depiction of solitary confinement but an immersive journey into the mind of isolation. Rendered through the sinuous hand‑drawn animation of Natasza Cetner, the film transforms what could easily have … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES – Inside, The Valley Sings: A Visceral, Beautiful Cry from Within the Walls

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