Oscar Shorts — Tickets on Sale Now!
The countdown continues to the Oscar-nominated short films! We know how much you look forward to Fresno Filmworks’ premier annual event. This year we’ll be showing the Oscar shorts in a new location, at Fresno City College!
Dates: February 21 & 22 (times are listed below)
Location: Old Administration Building Auditorium at Fresno City College
All three programs: Animation, Documentary, and Live Action
Free parking!
Tickets for individual showings, one-day passes, and two-day passes range from $17.85 to $44.52 (includes processing fee). They can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fresno-filmworks-oscar-shorts-2025-friday-feb-21-saturday-feb-22-tickets-1117067692539?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Note: This program may not be appropriate for audiences under the age of 14 due to gun violence, shootings, language and animated nudity.
ANIMATION
Starting times 5:30 p.m. Friday, 4:30 p.m. Saturday (90 MIN with credits)
MAGIC CANDLES: JAPAN/21 MINS/2024
Director: Daisuke Nishio
Synopsis: The other kids at the park never ask Dong-Dong to play. But he’s fine just playing marbles on his own. One day he goes out in search of new marbles, but ends up buying a bag of colorful, marble-shaped candies instead. But the first time he pops one of them into his mouth, he’s astonished to hear his old sofa start talking to him! For the next few minutes, until the candy melts away, he has the most unexpected and amazing conversation of his life. Realizing that these are no ordinary candies, Dong- Dong looks at the rest of colorful sweets. Who else will he be able to talk to, and what else will he learn, through these magic candies?
IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS: IRAN/20 MINS/2023
Directors: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani
Synopsis: Living in a house by the sea with his daughter, a former captain who has post-traumatic stress disorder leads a tough and secluded life.
YUCK!: FRANCE/13 MINS/2024
Director: Loïc Espuche
Synopsis: Yuck! Adults kiss each other on the mouth, and children find it disgusting! What’s more, you can see it from afar: when people are about to kiss, their lips become all pink and shiny. Little Léo makes jokes about it, as do the other kids at the summer camp. But he has a secret he won’t tell his friends: his own mouth has actually begun glistening. And, in reality, Léo desperately wants to give kissing a try.
[The following two films include nudity, and may not be appropriate for children under 14.]
WANDER TO WONDER: NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, FRANCE, UK/13 MINS/2023
Director: Nina Gantz
Synopsis: Mary, Billybud, and Fumbleton are three tiny humans who star in a kids’ TV Series called “Wander to Wonder”. After the creator dies, they are left alone in the studio. Struggling to find enough to eat, they continue to make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.
BEAUTIFUL MEN: BELGIUM, FRANCE, NETHERLANDS/18 MINS/2023
Director: Nicolas Keppens
Synopsis: Three balding brothers travel to Istanbul to get a hair transplant. Stuck with each other in a hotel far from home, their insecurities grow faster than their hair.
LIVE ACTION
Starting times 8 p.m. Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday (104 min with credits)
THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT: CROATIA/13 MINS/2024
Director: Nebojsa Slijepcevic
Synopsis: 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them.
ANUJA: INDIA, USA/22 MINS/2024
Director: Adam J. Graves
Synopsis: ANUJA tells the story of a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide.
I AM NOT A ROBOT: BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS/22 MINS/2023
Director: Victoria Warmerdam
Synopsis: After repeatedly failing Captcha tests, music producer Lara spirals into obsession, haunted by the disturbing question of whether she might actually be a robot.
A LIEN: USA/15 MINS/2023
Directors: David Cutler-Kreutz, Sam Cutler-Kreutz
Synopsis: A young couple face up to and deal with a dangerous immigration process.
THE LAST RANGER: SOUTH AFRICA/28 MINS/202
Director: Cindy Lee
Synopsis: When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers. In the ensuing battle to save the rhinos, Litha discovers a terrible secret.
DOCUMENTARIES
Starting time 1 p.m. Saturday (165 MIN with credits)
INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART: Japan/23 MINS/2024
Director: Ema Ryan Yamazaki
Synopsis: A New York Times Op-Docs, first graders in a Tokyo public elementary school are presented with a challenge for the final semester: to form an orchestra and perform “Ode to Joy” at a school ceremony.
INCIDENT: USA/30 MINS/2023
Director: Bill Morrison
Synopsis: Through a montage of surveillance and police body-camera footage, a reconstruction of a deadly shooting by a Chicago police officer becomes an investigation into how a narratve begins to take shape in the aftermath.
I AM READY, WARDEN: USA/37 MINS/2024
Director: Smriti Mundhra
Synopsis: John Henry Ramirez is convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the state of Texas. During his incarceration, Ramirez tries to reach out to his victim’s son while also preparing to say goodbye to his family.
THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA: USA/35 MINS/2023
Director: Molly O’Brien
Synopsis: Trailblazing double bassist Orin O’Brien was never one to seek the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic, she inevitably became the focus of media attention and, ultimately, one of the most renowned musicians of a generation.
DEATH BY NUMBERS: USA/33 MINS/2024
Director: Kim A. Snyder
Synopsis: Four years after being shot with an AR-15 in her high school, Samantha Fuentes reckons with existential questions of hatred and justice as she prepares to confront her shooter.