Back in shorts

It's nearly Oscar time again, which means Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley is showing all the nominated short films.  Last year was an excellent batch, but unfortunately this year there was nothing as funny as Granny O'Grimm, as charming as Wallace and Gromit, or as incredibly insane as Logorama (which won!)

I think there had been a few complaints that 2009's entrants had been too funny, as it was all a bit more dystopian and depressing, including one about pollution and someone whose mother dies as he's carrying her over a mountain.

Luckily there was also Day and Night from Pixar (which showed before Toy Story 3):



And also the genius of Bill Plympton with The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger (only "highly commended" though, not in competition.  Booo!)



If I had to pick the winner...it will probably be Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage, which is the story of a young man's trip to the island.  It's very arty, and very well done.



But my absolute favourite of the lot was The Lost Thing by Aussie illustrator Shaun Tan, about a man who finds...well...a lost thing, and his struggles trying to report it to the Federal Department of Odds and Ends:



Beautiful stuff.  Now I want a lost thing of my own...