CHICAGO – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click LITTLE BEAR.
Film Review: Childhood is a Major Theme in 2019 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Films
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CHICAGO – There are four films among the five Oscar-nominated Live Action Shorts for 2019 that have childhood in their theme, and they all are telling about situations in the more in-your-face dark circumstances of life today (or in the case of one film, 25 years ago). The Landmark Century Centre Cinema in Chicago are currently showing all the shorts in one program. Click here for more information.
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The only film that has a bit of light in it is “Marguerite’ (Canada) which deals with a relationship between a caregiver and her elder woman patient, who reveals a secret. The other four films – “Detainment” (Ireland/Britain), “Fauve” (Canada), “Madre” (Spain) and “Skin” (USA) – all have children as major characters in our world where too much is happening, both to them and the adults around them. In the needle-in-the-haystack of short films that compete for awards from all around the world, it is somewhat shocking that 80% spotlight childhood trauma.
“Detainment” is a based-on-history story on two Liverpudlian English boys prosecuted as the youngest murderers of the 20th Century. “Fauve” is two boys trying to outdo each other, until one goes too far. “Madre” is a tense drama, talking place in one apartment, as a mother tries to locate her lost son via mobile phone. And “Skin,” the lone U.S. entry, is an exposure of race relationships that are ongoing, and in this story has tragic consequences.
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’Skin,’ Directed by Guy Nattiv
Photo credit: Shorts TV
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