Oscar-Nominated Live Action Short Films

If you're a serious cinema buff, you've probably already seen <I>The Artist</i> and <i>The Descendants</i> by now. Unless you've earned some serious frequent flyer miles visiting film festivals around the country, though, it's unlikely you've seen all the live-action short films nominated for Oscars this year. This program makes it easy to catch up. Among the five nominated films are <i>The Shore</i>, from <i>Hotel Rwanda</i> director Terry George, and Raju, a German film about a couple that discovers great poverty during a trip to adopt a child in India. Those dramas are offset by light comedies: The Irish short <i>Pentecost</i> likens the Catholic Church to soccer, the surreal Norwegian black comedy <i>Tuba Atlantic</i> covers the final acts of a grizzled fisherman whose doctor gives him one week to live, and the lone American contender, <i>Time Freak</i>, introduces a physics student who creates a time machine. (Multiple screenings through Feb. 23.)