The field of 31 Documentary Short Subject contenders for next year’s Oscars has been whittled to eight films, the motion picture academy announced Oct. 11. Three to five will earn Oscar nominations on Jan. 10.

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Voters from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Documentary Branch viewed this year’s eligible entries and submitted their ballots. The following eight films made the cut:

• “The Education of Mohammad Hussein,” Loki Films
• “Inocente,” Shine Global, Inc.
• “Kings Point,” Kings Point Documentary, Inc.
• “Mondays at Racine,” Cynthia Wade Productions
• “Open Heart,” Urban Landscapes Inc.
• “Paraíso,” The Strangebird Company
• “The Perfect Fit,” SDI Productions Ltd.
• “Redemption,” Downtown Docs

Trailers and synopses

From the non-fiction production company that brought Oscar-nominated “Jesus Camp” to theaters comes “The Education of Mohammad Hussein,” which looks at what it is like to grow up Muslim in the United States a decade after 9/11. No trailer is currently available.

“Incocent,” a short documentary that aired on MTV in August, is described as “an intensely personal coming-of-age” doc that follows a Latina teenager from San Diego who is an artist that refuses to let poverty and homelessness define her. (Links: Twitter, Facebook, Website.)

“Kings Point,” from director Sari Gilman, follows five seniors living in a Florida retirement resort and is a “bittersweet look at our national obsession with self-reliance.” The short film is playing at the Woodstock Film Festival on Oct. 12 and Oct. 13. (Links: Facebook, Website.)

Two bold hair salon owners in Long Island are the subject of “Mondays at Racine.” Every third Monday of the month, the pair opens their doors to women diagnosed with cancer. (Links: Facebook, Website.)

“Open Heart” chronicles eight Rwandan children who leave their home “on a life or death journey” to receive open-heart surgery at the Salam Center, Africa’s only free-of-charge cardiac hospital. (Links: Twitter, Facebook, Website.)

Three immigrant window cleaners are the subject of “Paraíso.” The three risk their lives every day to clean some of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers. (Links: Twitter, Facebook, Website.)

“The Perfect Fit” tells the story of ballet shoemakers.

“Redemption,” from filmmakers Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill, follows New York City “canners,” who redeem bottles and cans for money. The pair has been nominated before in the category for “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province” (2009). No trailer is currently available.

The 85th Academy Awards are Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, airing locally on 13abc.

Toledo Free Press Lead Designer and Film Editor James A. Molnar blogs about all things Oscar at TheGoldKnight.com. Watch him discuss movies on “WNWO Today” around 5:50 a.m. on Fridays. Also, listen to James discuss movies on “Eye on Your Weekend” on 1370 WSPD every Friday at 6 p.m.

Tags: 85th annual, 85th Oscars, Academy Awards, documentary, documentary short, James A. Molnar, Oscars, shortlist, shorts, The Gold Knight, The Oscars

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Film, Star, The Gold Knight.
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