Filmworks fans pick 2014 Oscar shorts winners

Two out of three ain’t bad.

This past February, Filmworks asked our audience to predict the winners of the Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2014 race. Attendees correctly picked the live action and documentary winners, and they came close in the animation category.

The runaway favorite in the live action category was “Helium,” a story about a dying boy who finds comfort in the tales of a magical land, told to him by the hospital janitor.

Jim S. of Fresno was picked at random as our audience winner, out of 72 people who picked correctly. Here’s how the full audience voted:
“Helium” — 72
“That Wasn’t Me” — 49
“Just Before Losing Everything” — 32
“The Voorman Problem” — 21
“Do I Have to Take Care of Everything” — 21

The runaway audience favorite in the documentary category was “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life,” a story about 109-year-old Alice Herz Sommer, the world’s oldest pianist and its oldest Holocaust survivor. (Herz Sommer passed away just days before the Oscar ceremony.)

Carol P. of Fresno was picked at random as our audience winner, out of 39 people who picked correctly. Here’s the full audience vote:
“The Lady in Number 6” — 39
“Prison Terminal” — 20
“Facing Fear” — 14
“Karma Has No Walls” — 13
“Cavedigger” — 10

Our audience missed the animation pick this year, going with “Room on the Broom” as the favorite over the eventual winner “Mr. Hublot.” In the former, a genial witch and her cat are joined on their broom by several friends as they set off on an adventure. And in the latter, the eccentric Mr. Hublot finds his carefully ordered world disrupted by the arrival of Robot Pet.

Bruce B. of Atascadero was picked at random as our audience winner, out of 44 people who picked correctly. The breakdown:
“Room on the Broom” — 56
“Mr. Hublot” — 44
“Get a Horse!” — 16
“Possessions” — 10
“Feral” — 8

Finally, there were only two audience voters who predicted all three winners correctly. In a random drawing between the two, Susanne O. of Fowler (a first-time Filmworks attendee!) was named the winner. The runner-up, Krisalyn W. of Fresno, will also receive a prize.

Winners received prize packs that included Blu-ray and DVD movies from Magnolia Pictures, free pizza coupons from Me-n-Ed’s Pizzeria, and free movie tickets from Filmworks.

Jefferson Beavers serves as President of the Fresno Filmworks board, and he teaches journalism and film studies at Fresno City College.