Four of this year’s short contenders for the Oscars tell personal narratives that lead audiences on uniquely distinct journeys. In The Noble Guardian, journalist Anna Coren makes her directorial debut with the story of Afghan American women’s rights activist Mahbouba Seraj, who decided to stay in Afghanistan following the United States’ withdrawal from the country in 2021 to run a women’s shelter. Coren came across Mahbouba’s story while covering the Taliban’s subsequent resume of power.
“We spoke over Zoom, and I honestly had goosebumps all over my body speaking to her because of her feistiness, her angst, her utter frustration with the world at what had happened,” the director said during a taping of THR Presents, powered by Vision Media. “I knew right then that this woman was a documentary, not just a news story.”
In telling Mahbouba’s story, Coren tells the story of many...
“We spoke over Zoom, and I honestly had goosebumps all over my body speaking to her because of her feistiness, her angst, her utter frustration with the world at what had happened,” the director said during a taping of THR Presents, powered by Vision Media. “I knew right then that this woman was a documentary, not just a news story.”
In telling Mahbouba’s story, Coren tells the story of many...
- 12/4/2023
- by Brande Victorian
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A select group of films has qualified for Academy Award consideration after winning prizes at the 27th LA Shorts Film Festival, the longest-running shorts festival in the movie capital.
Nowhere, directed by L.A.-based filmmaker Gavin Hovannisian, won the Best of Fest Award at a ceremony Sunday night. In the 11-minute narrative short, set in the fictional city of Nowhere, the protagonists are shadows that “dream of a life without their human masters.”
Also qualifying for Oscar consideration was It Takes a Village…, winner of Best International Film. Director Ophelia Harutyunyan’s drama “tells the story of Mariam, who lives in an Armenian Village where there are no men. On her birthday, her hopes of a reunited family are shattered, when she must put aside her own crushed dreams and help her friend Anush as she embarks into motherhood.”
Both Nowhere and It Takes a Village… are Armenian films.
Nowhere, directed by L.A.-based filmmaker Gavin Hovannisian, won the Best of Fest Award at a ceremony Sunday night. In the 11-minute narrative short, set in the fictional city of Nowhere, the protagonists are shadows that “dream of a life without their human masters.”
Also qualifying for Oscar consideration was It Takes a Village…, winner of Best International Film. Director Ophelia Harutyunyan’s drama “tells the story of Mariam, who lives in an Armenian Village where there are no men. On her birthday, her hopes of a reunited family are shattered, when she must put aside her own crushed dreams and help her friend Anush as she embarks into motherhood.”
Both Nowhere and It Takes a Village… are Armenian films.
- 8/1/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
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