{"id":5363,"date":"2020-01-28T15:42:52","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T22:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/?p=5363"},"modified":"2020-01-31T13:20:41","modified_gmt":"2020-01-31T20:20:41","slug":"oscar-nominated-shorts-saria-sisters-and-walk-run-cha-cha-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/2020\/oscar-nominated-shorts-saria-sisters-and-walk-run-cha-cha-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Nominated Shorts &#8211; Saria, Sisters and Walk Run Cha-Cha"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Academy_Award_trophy.png?resize=124%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5364\" width=\"124\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Academy_Award_trophy.png?resize=165%2C300&amp;ssl=1 165w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Academy_Award_trophy.png?w=219&amp;ssl=1 219w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 124px) 100vw, 124px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While feature films with A-list actors garner the most\nattention at the Oscars, the award show also has three short film categories\nthat seldom receive the attention they deserve. For that reason, the Malibu\nFilm Society held a free screening for&nbsp;<em>Saria<\/em>&nbsp;(Nominated,\nBest Live Action Short),&nbsp;<em>Sister<\/em>&nbsp;(Nominated,\nBest Animated Short) and&nbsp;<em>Walk Run\nCha-Cha<\/em>&nbsp;(Nominated, Best Documentary Short).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each film coveys wildly different topics but shares a\nuniversal goal of showing something that needs to be discussed.&nbsp;<em>Saria<\/em>\u2019s haunting story shows that outside\nthe developed safety of western nations, there exists corruption, injustice and\ninnocents powerless to defend themselves, with humanitarian disasters occurring\nfrequently that never receive the spotlight of the western world.&nbsp;<em>Sister<\/em>&nbsp;examines the very real and\nemotional connection between siblings and forces the audience to carefully\nconsider the value of human life.&nbsp;<em>Walk\nRun Cha-Cha<\/em>&nbsp;mixes the passion of dance and shows how love can\nbeat the boundaries of time and space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each film deals with loss in its story.&nbsp;<em>Saria<\/em>&nbsp;follows the true story of a group of children in an orphanage in Guatemala that suffer from constant abuse and their eventual revolt against their abusers, ultimately leading to a tragedy.&nbsp;<em>Sister<\/em>&nbsp;uses the beautiful expressionism of stop motion animation to creatively show the relationship between a big brother and little sister and by the end, it inspires careful thought about who has a right to be born.&nbsp;<em>Walk Run Cha-Cha<\/em>&nbsp;tells the story of a couple that falls in love in Vietnam before the Vietnam War, become separated by the political turmoil, only to reconnect a long six years later and have incredible talents as professional dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dpg7P4hLD6w\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Saria<\/em>&nbsp;developed its main characters in a way that ensured the audience\nconnected to the children\u2019s suffering: the film took time to portray its young\ncharacters as normal teenagers. They felt jealousies, had their first loves,\nshared silly rumors and had colorful dreams of the future, which only helped\nfurther the pain of seeing such injustices committed against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"vimeo-player\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/374357131\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sisters<\/em>, made by students at Cal Arts, shows how excellent stop motion can be.\nThe movements look as smooth as digital animation and have as much possibility as\ndigital animation. The short, eight-minute story develops its characters\nperfectly and feels authentic and relatable to anyone watching. Yet, its large\nreveal at the end could have been done better &#8211; minutes before the narrator\nunveils the twist, the visuals foreshadow the twist. By having this slow\nunveiling of the surprise at the end, it lowers its emotional impact on the\naudience. Yet, it perfectly tackles what can be considered a political topic in\na very unbiased way, allowing viewers from any point of view to enjoy it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9KBZFslXABo\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Walk Run Cha-Cha<\/em>&nbsp;perfectly connects the audience to the couple on-screen\nby examining their lives, habits and most importantly, their story. While the\nscenes of the couple dancing would warm anyone\u2019s heart, the documentary poorly connects\nthem to the story of how political turmoil separated their love, creating an\nodd contrast between the film discussing their past and their present love of dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All three films have many\nlessons for adults to learn but may be difficult for younger children to\nunderstand, so I recommend all three films for ages 14 to 18. While<em>&nbsp;Saria&nbsp;<\/em>may be intense for\nchildren as young as 14, it should be remembered that the youngest victims in\nthe tragedy were 14 years old. Showing films like this can help children\nunderstand early on how people in the west have it much easier, compared to those\nin other parts of the world.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gerry.2018.jpg?resize=225%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5365\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gerry.2018.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gerry.2018.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gerry.2018.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Gerry.2018.jpg?w=1466&amp;ssl=1 1466w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Because of&nbsp;<em>Saria\u2019s&nbsp;<\/em>exceptional reenactment of a heart-aching tragedy, I give it 5 out of 5 stars.&nbsp;<em>Sisters<\/em>&nbsp;portrays a real-life relationship between siblings, realistically and maintained and impressively neutral in a deeply partisan political issue but fails in the delivery of the most important twist of the story and so I give it 4 out of 5 stars. While<em>&nbsp;Walk Run Cha-Cha<\/em>&nbsp;shows the human consequences of global conflicts such as the Vietnam War quite well, it fails to connect its two subplots &#8211; the history of the couple\u2019s relationship and their dancing, in a meaningful way. Hence, I give it 3 \u00bd out of 5 stars. All three are nominated for an Oscar, so keep that in mind when you watch the award\u2019s show on February 2, 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Gerry O., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While feature films with A-list actors garner the most attention at the Oscars, the award show also has three short film categories that seldom receive the attention they deserve. For that reason, the Malibu Film Society held a free screening for Saria (Nominated, Best Live Action Short), Sister (Nominated, Best Animated Short) and Walk Run Cha-Cha (Nominated, Best Documentary Short). <\/p>\n<p>Each film coveys wildly different topics but shares a universal goal of showing something that needs to be discussed. Saria\u2019s haunting story shows that outside the developed safety of western nations, there exists corruption, injustice and innocents powerless to defend themselves, with humanitarian disasters occurring frequently that never receive the spotlight of the western world. Sister examines the very real and emotional connection between siblings and forces the audience to carefully consider the value of human life. Walk Run Cha-Cha mixes the passion of dance and shows how love can beat the boundaries of time and space.<\/p>\n<p>Each film dealt with loss in its story. Saria follows the true story of a group of children in an orphanage in Guatemala that suffer from constant abuse and their eventual revolt against their abusers, ultimately leading to a tragedy. Sister uses the beautiful expressionism of stop motion animation to creatively show the relationship between a big brother and little sister and by the end, it inspires careful thought about who has a right to be born. Walk Run Cha-Cha tells the story of a couple that falls in love in Vietnam before the Vietnam War, become separated by the political turmoil, only to reconnect a long six years later and have incredible talents as professional dancers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,5],"tags":[22,1273,1275,1271,1282,1281,1280,1276,1277,1211,1268,1269,1270,1272,1279,1278,1274],"class_list":["post-5363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-news","category-member-news","tag-animation","tag-best-animated-short","tag-best-documentary-short","tag-best-live-action-short","tag-cal-arts","tag-dancers","tag-dancing","tag-gerry-orz","tag-guatemala","tag-love","tag-malibu-film-society","tag-oscar-nominees","tag-saria","tag-sister","tag-tragedy","tag-vietnam","tag-walk-run-cha-cha"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS5I2-1ov","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5363"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5405,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5363\/revisions\/5405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}