This weekend is your last chance to catch up on Oscar-nominated films ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony.
Followers of the race have likely read — or, at least, scrolled past — dozens of takes served both hot and cold, including our own critic’s. But for viewers hankering to solidify their own opinions on what the Academy has “deemed” the best, now’s the time to do it.
Cincinnati World Cinema’s annual presentation of Oscar-nominated short documentaries still has three screenings at its downtown Garfield Theatre (719 Race St.). Divided into two separate blocks, Program A includes Life Overtakes Me, a 40-minute documentary directed by Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas that follows hundreds of refugee children in Sweden as they fall into a coma-like illness known as Resignation Syndrome. Next is the Carol Dysinger-directed Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), which spins the story of young girls learning to read, write and skateboard at a school called Skateistan in Kabul, Afghanistan. Both films are followed by bonus shorts from Northern Kentucky University. Screenings are 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 and 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.
Program B rounds out the rest of the nominated flicks with director Seung-Jun Yi’s In the Absence, a harrowing short exploring the aftermath of a deadly incident in which the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off a coast in South Korea, killing over 300 passengers — most of which were school-aged children.
Next up is St. Louis Superman. Directed by Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan, it tells the story of black rapper and activist Bruce Franks, who ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in Ferguson, Missouri. Closing the screening block is Walk Run Cha-Cha. Directed by Laura Nix of The New York Times, it hones in on the love story of Chipaul and Millie Cao, who, after being separated by the Vietnam War, were reunited in California circa the 1980s. Jump to the present and the middle-aged couple are ballroom dancers. Catch Program B at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8.
Sara Drabik, an associate Electronic Media and Broadcasting professor at Northern Kentucky University, will lead post-film discussions after both sessions on Saturday. Single program tickets are $11 in advance via Cincinnati World Cinema’s website or by calling 859-957-3456 or $16 at the door. Nab tix for both programs for $18 in advance or $23 at the door. (Advance ticket sales cease three hours ahead of showtimes.)
You can also catch Oscar-nominated shorts locally at Cinemark Oakley Station and XD (3025 Disney St., Oakley). Want to catch up on Best Picture nominees in their fullest big-screen glory? As part of their Oscar Week event, you can catch showtimes for most of them, including 1917, Little Women, Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Ford V. Ferrari. For full showtimes and ticket prices, visit cinemark.com.
Lucky for you, the only two flicks not shown at the theater are Irishman and Marriage Story, both of were picked up by streaming giant Netflix and can be viewed in the comfort of your own home.
This article appears in Feb 5-18, 2020.
