The Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts 2009

Laemmle Theatres is pleased to present all the 2009 Oscar-nominated Live Action Short Films in one place.

Auf Der Strecke (On the Line) - dir. Reto Caffi - 30 min
New Boy - dir. Steph Green - 11 min
Toyland - dir. Jochen Freydank - 14 min
The Pig - dirs. Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh - 22 min
Manon on the Asphalt - dirs. Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont - 15 min

AUF DER STRECKE (ON THE LINE)
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND/30 MINS/2007

Director: Reto Caffi
Writers: Philippe Zweifel, Reto Caffi
Producers: Academy of Media Arts, Cologne
Co-Producers: Blush Films, Zurich/Swiss Television SF TV
Director of Photography: Piotr Rosolowski
Editor: Thomas Bachmann
Production Designers: Corinne Dettwiler, Sandra Salvatore
Music: Ivo Ubezio, Daniel Jakob, Oli Kuster

Cast: Roeland Wiesnekker, Catherine Janke, Leonardo Nigro, Hanspeter Bader, Julie Bräuning

A department store security guard is secretly infatuated with a clerk in the store's bookshop. When he witnesses a love rival being attacked on a train, he abandons him. A decision that carries with it devastating consequences.

Director's Biography:
Raised in Bern, Reto Caffi studied English and Communications at the University of Bern and Fribourg. After graduating, Caffi worked as a cultural journalist for Swiss Radio International and for Swiss National Television, as well as for various print media. Caffi then undertook post-graduate studies at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. Auf der Strecke is his sixth film as director.

Selected Awards:
Honorary Foreign Film, 35th Student Academy Awards (AMPAS), 2008; Best Short Film, Swiss Film Prize, 2008; Grand Jury Prize - International, 30th Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, 2008; BMW Short Film Prize, 9th Landshut Short Film Festival, 2008; Best Student Film, Aspen Shortsfest, 2008; Best Narrative Film, 11th Brooklyn International Film Festival, 2008; Innovation Award/Audience Award - German Competition, 24th Hamburg International Short Film Festival, 2008; Best European Short Film, Les Lutins du Court Metrage, 2008

Selected Festivals:
18th Kinofest Lünen, 2008; Schweizer Filmpreis, 2008; 30th Festival International du Court Metrage Clermont-Ferrand, 2008; Aspen Shortsfest, 2008; Studio Hamburg Nachwuchspreis 2008; 35th Student Academy Awards; 34th Seattle International Film Festival, 2008; 11th Brooklyn International Film Festival, 2008; 24th Internationales Kurz Film Festival Hamburg, 2008; Les Lutins du Court Metrage, 2008; 61st Festival Internazionale del Film Locarno, 2008; 3rd Sapporo Short Fest, 2008; 7th Festival des Films de Court Métrages deja Primés, 2008; 13th Angelus Student Film Festival, 2008; 13th Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente de Ourense, 2008;

GRISEN (THE PIG)
DENMARK/22 MINS/2008
Director: Dorte Høgh
Writers: Anders August, Dorte Høgh
Producers: Tivi Magnusson, Johanne Stryhn Hørby, Christian Potalivo
Director of Photography: Jens Schlosser
Editor: Henrik Vincent Thiesen
Music: Bent Fabricius-Bjerre
Cast: Henning Moritzen, Trine Pallesen, Farshad Kholghi, Jesper Asholt, Camilla Søeberg
When Asbjorn is admitted to hospital, he finds comfort in a painting of a whimsical pig - until it is removed by the request of another patient.
Director's Biography:
After a decade working in television and radio, Dorte Høgh attended The National Film School of Denmark where she graduated as a screenwriter in 1999.
Since then she has written scripts for television and film such as the short film Herretoilettet, the popular dramatic series Nikolaj & Julie and the feature films The Inheritance and Manslaughter, the former of which won Best Screenplay at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2003.
The Pig is Dorte's directorial debut.
Awards:
Audience Award for Best Short Film, Hamptons International Film Festival, 2008; Best Short Film, Miami International Short Film Festival, 2008
Festivals:
Hamptons International Film Festival, 2008; Miami International Short Film Festival, 2008

MANON SUR LE BITUME (MANON ON THE ASPHALT)
FRANCE/15 MINS/2007

Writer/Directors: Elizabeth Marre, Olivier Pont
Producer: Sébastien Hussenot
Director of Photography: Pierric Gantelmi d'llle
Editor: Marcela Figueroa
Music: Christophe Julien
Cast: Aude Léger, Xavier Boiffier
What really flashes before your eyes at the end? It’s a lovely spring day and Manon is on her way to a rendezvous with her boyfriend when an unexpected bump in the road makes her see life from an entirely fresh perspective.
Director's Biography:
After completing a Master's Law Degree at the University Paris II, Elizabeth Marre successfully passed the French Bar Exam. At the same time, she pursued acting classes and worked as a 1st Assistant Director on feature films.
Olivier Pont grew up in the French Riviera. He passed a Scientific Baccalauréat and then graduated from the CFT Gobelins, the French National Animation School. He worked as an animator for three years at Steven Spielberg's Amblimation Studio in London.
Searching for independence and personal creativity, he decided to develop his own stories and became a comic strip artist. Olivier edited eight comic books, including the diptych Où le Regard ne porte pas… which met with great critical and public acclaim.
Marre and Pont have written and directed two short films together: That Little Spark (La Petite Flamme) in 2005 and Manon sur le Bitume in 2007. They are now working on their first feature film.
Selected Awards:
Priz Coup de Coeur Junior, Ciné Bocage, 2007; Int Audience Award, Cologne 2008; Prix de l'Avenir, Ile de la Reunion, CineMA, 2008; Mention Speciale Court Metrage, Los Angeles Colcoa, 2008; Prix du Public, Limoges, 2008; Shorts TV Award, Mamers en mars, 2008; Best Live Action Short, Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival, 2008
Selected Festivals:
Chateau-Chinon, 2007; Caen La Gurinére, 2007; Namur, 2007; St Jean de Luz, 2007; Osnabruck, 2007; Leeds, 2007; Abu Dhabi, 2007; Mostra Sao Palo, 2007; Stuttgart Tubingen, 2007; Le gout du court Paris Balzac, 2007; Munich FFAT, 2008; Espoirs en 35mm Mulhouse, 2008; Dresden, 2008; Cleveland, 2008; Panorama du Cinema Francais, 2008


NEW BOY
IRELAND/11 MINS/2007

Writer/Director: Steph Green
Producer: Tamara Anghie
Director of Photography: P.J. Dillon
Editor: Lee Hickey
Scenic Designers: Francis Taaffe, Shannon Scrofano
Costume Designers: Allison Byrne, Sandra Burns
Music: Len Arran
Cast: Olutunji Ebun-Cole, Norma Sheahan, Simon O'Driscoll, Sinead Maguire, Fionn O'Shea, Byron Kumbula
Based on a Roddy Doyle short story, a young African immigrant struggles to find a place for himself during his first day at an Irish school.
Director's Biography:
Steph Green is an Irish-American writer/director. Her short films and commercials have been featured in the Cannes Lions Young Director's showcase, Young Guns Advertising Awards as well as noted film festivals around the world. Her recent short, New Boy, has won over 20 international festivals.
Steph has had the privilege of working with mentors such as Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay, Fredrik Bond and Alan Poul. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and University College Dublin and splits her time between Los Angeles and Dublin.
Steph is currently developing feature film projects in Ireland and the US.
Selected Awards:
Best Narrative Short, Tribeca Film Festival, 2008; Special Mention - Generation kPlus, Berlinale 2008; Best Short Film, Irish Film & Television Awards 2008; Best Film 11th Manhattan Short Film Festival 2008; Special Jury Prize for Short Film Seattle International Film Festival 2008; Best of Fest, St Louis International Film Festival 2008; Best Short Film, Vail Film Festival 2008; Best Irish Short Film, Foyle Film Festival 2007; Best Short Film, Rhode Island Film Festival 2008; Best International Film Audience Award, Cork International Film Festival 2008
Selected Festivals:
Cork International Film Festival, 2007; Santa Barbara Film Festival, 2008; Berlinale 2008; Dublin International Film Festival, 2008; San Francisco Irish Film Festival 2008; Belfast Film Festival, 2008; Tribeca Film Festival, 2008; Seattle International Film Festival, 2008; Worldwide Short Film Festival, 2008; Seoul Film Festival, 2008; Rhode Island Film Festival, 2008; Palm Springs Shorts Fest, 2008; Telluride Film Festival, 2008; Beauvais Film Festival, 2008; Leeds


SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)
GERMANY/14 MINS/2007
Director: Jochen Alexander Freydank
Writers: Johann A. Bunners, Jochen Alexander Freydank
Producer: Jochen Alexander Freydank
Director of Photography: Christoph "Cico" Nicolaisen
Editor: Anna Kappelmann
Production Designer: Maja Zogg
Music: Ingo Ludwig Frenzel
Cast: Julia Jäger, Cedric Eich, Tamay Bulut Özvatan, Tortsen Michaelis, Claudia Hübschmann
Germany 1942. A mother convinces her son that the Jewish neighbors are going on a journey to 'Toyland'.
Director's Biography:
Jochen Alexander Freydank was born 1969 in East Berlin. He directed fringe theater, commercials and short films. He started his film career as a first assistant director and editor before becoming a screenwriter for TV and Film.
At present he works as a producer of a TV series while preparing for his first feature film as a director.
Awards:
Audience Award/Best Short Film, Almería International Short Film Festival, 2008; Audience Award, Alpinale European Film Festival, 2008; Best Short Film, Asheville Film Festival, 2008; Shorts Award, Bermuda International Film Festival, 2008; Friedrich-Wilhelm- Murnau-Award, Day of the German Short Film; ANEC Gold Medal, Giffoni Film Festival, 2008; Best Children's Film/1st Prize, Odense International Film Festival, 2008; Audience Award, Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, 2008; 2nd Place International Discovery Award, Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2008; Golden Spike, Valladolid International Film Festival, 2007; VIVIF Award, Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival, 2008
Festivals:
Almería International Short Film Festival, 2008; Alpinale European Film Festival, 2008; Asheville Film Festival, 2008; Bermuda International Film Festival, 2008; Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival, 2008; Giffoni Film Festival, 2008; Max Ophüls Festival, 2008; Odense International Film Festival, 2008; Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, 2008; Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2008; Valladolid International Film Festival, 2007; Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival, 2008