Oscar Week Begins with Sean Astin Hosting The SHORTS Program

©A.M.P.A.S.

By Melissa Thompson, Gary Salem and Michelle McCue

Oscar Week 2015 has arrived. The week kicked off with the filmmakers of the Oscar nominated short films.

Actor Sean Astin hosted the Academy’s “Oscar Celebrates: Shorts” event on Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Astin was a perfect choice. His short film Kangaroo Court was nominated for an Oscar back in 1995, and its quite obvious he has a passion for the genre.

He spoke about what it was like when he was nominated in that category and being excited about the possibility of winning (It was actually a tie between 2 shorts that year, and his film was not one of them). Said Astin wryly, “I told myself we probably came in 3rd.”

He was very engaging in Q&A panel and asked the perfect smart and brief questions to keep things moving along.

Best animated short film

“The Bigger Picture”
A National Film and Television School Production
Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees

“The Dam Keeper”
A Tonko House Production
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi

“Feast” (Walt Disney)
A Walt Disney Animation Studios Production
Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

“Me and My Moulton” (National Film Board of Canada)
A Mikrofilm/National Film Board of Canada Production
Torill Kove

“A Single Life” (KLIK! Distribution Service)
(KLIK! Distribution Service)
A Job, Joris & Marieke Production
Joris Oprins

Best live action short film

“Aya” (IsraeliFilms)
A Cassis Films and Divine Production
Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis

“Boogaloo and Graham”
An Out of Orbit Production
Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney

“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” (L’Agence du
Court-métrage)
An AMA Production
Hu Wei and Julien Féret

“Parvaneh”
A Zurich University of Arts Production
Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger

“The Phone Call” (Network Ireland Television)
An RSA Films Production
Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

You can see these films in 400 theaters across the country, VOD and iTunes now. For more info click here.

The 87th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22nd from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and televised on ABC.

From left: Host Sean Astin with the Animated Short nominees Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees, “The Bigger Picture”, Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, “The Dam Keeper”, Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed, “Feast”, Torill Kove, “Me and My Moulton” and Joris Oprins, “A Single Life”