I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy the Oscar nominated short live action, animated and documentary films for the last few years. After watching the short live action and short animated films at a local theatre recently, I tracked 13 different story lines running around in my head afterwards, all rich with complexity. One film in particular, Avant que de tout perdre [Just before losing everything] has so much to say that when recollecting it, it seemed to have much longer than 29 minutes.
Here’s the trailer for Avant que de tout perdre
But, that’s what short films excel at, telling their story succinctly. They may well be the future of film. Many older short films are available on YouTube and other sites for free. Check out these two sites where you can read about and watch short films: Films Short and Short of the Week.
I feature these short films because many of them—especially the animated shorts—are perfect for children because they are more beautiful and profound than many full-length films made for children. Plus their length is better suited to children.
Pixar won the 2013 Best Animated Short last for Paperman. Here’s the trailer.
But, my favorite in 2013 was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Here is the film in its entirely—15 minutes. Like many short films, it is also suitable for children.
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Peggy O’Mara is the editor and publisher of peggyomara.com. She founded Mothering.com in 1995 and was its editor-in chief until 2012. She was the editor and publisher of Mothering Magazine from 1980 to 2011. The author of Having a Baby Naturally; Natural Family Living; The Way Back Home; and A Quiet Place, Peggy has conducted workshops at Omega Institute, Esalen, La Leche League, and Bioneers. She is the mother of four and grandmother of two.
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