THE DORIS DUKE AT THE ACADEMY Birds sitting on a phone wire are disturbed by an extra-large visitor in "For the Birds," an Oscar-winning short film.

Doris Duke features package
of Oscar-honored short films

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Star-Bulletin staff

With Oscar night a little more than a week away, two of the overlooked categories every year are Best Short Film, both animated and live action.

To give you a taste of what the category is all about, a package of short films that either won or were nominated last year will be featured for two screenings tomorrow and Saturday night at the Doris Duke at the Academy at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The shorts will screen at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5 general and $3 for academy members. For more information, call 532-8768.

The international collection includes:

>> Best Animated Short Film Oscar winner "For the Birds," directed by Pixar production designer Ralph Eggleston. It's about a flock of small birds, perched on a wire, that find their delicate balance upset by the arrival of a larger bird.

>> Best Live Action Short Film Oscar winner "The Accountant," an American-made short shot in Georgia about two brothers whose farm is on the brink of bankruptcy. They decide to consult an accountant, who has some highly unconventional moneymaking suggestions.

>> Other Oscar-nominated animated shorts include:

"Fifty Percent Grey" (Ireland) -- A sergeant wakes up alone, with only a big-screen TV for company, in a setting designed to offer him eternal peace and tranquility.

"Give Up Yer Aul Sins" (Ireland) -- A TV crew visits a Dublin classroom and records a little girl's version of the story of John the Baptist.

"Strange Invaders" (Canada) -- A childless couple get more than they bargained for when a strange child appears at their door one day.

"Stubble Trouble" (U.S.) -- A man is thwarted by his rapidly growing beard.

"Copy Shop" (Austria) -- A man working in a copy shop photocopies his hand one day with Kafkaesque results.

>> Oscar-nominated live-action shorts include:

"Speed for the Thespians" (U.S.) -- Actors board a New York City bus and begin performing Anton Chekhov's "The Bear," interacting with the surprised passengers.

"A Man Thing (Meska Sprawa)" (Poland) -- A 13-year-old boy, whose closest emotional bond is with a stray dog, attempts to hide the fact that his father beats him.

"Gregor's Greatest Invention" (Germany) -- A man's grandmother faces life in an old-folks' home unless he can come up with an invention to compensate for her weakening legs.

Film curator Ann Brandman, said this year's winning shorts will be screened in May.

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