You know how every year the Oscars roll around and there’s this entire section of nominees you know nothing about? That’s right, the Live-Action Shorts and the Animated Shorts awards, the time when you usually go bury your head in the freezer for that possibly hidden pint of ice cream. It’s hard to be vested in a bunch of movies you’ve never seen.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International have put together a full program of the 2007 Academy Award nominees in both Short Films categories, to be screened theatrically, via digital projection no less, in 50 U.S. cities (meaning there’s hope for the flyover states then) beginning February 15, including several local theaters.
And here’s what you’ll be seeing, descriptions courtesy of Magnolia and Shorts International.
Live Action Shorts (total running time for the program is 137 minutes)
AT NIGHT; Denmark, Nominees: Christian E. Christiansen & Louise Vesth. Three young women share their problems while spending the holidays in a hospital cancer ward.
IL SUPPLENTE (THE SUBSTITUTE); Italy, Nominee: Andrea Jublin. The arrival of an unusual newcomer galvanizes the students in a high school classroom.
LE MOZART DES PICKPOCKETS (THE MOZART OF PICKPOCKETS); France, Nominee: Philippe Pollet-Villard. A pair of unlucky thieves find their fortunes have changed when they take in a deaf homeless boy.
TANGHI ARGENTINI; Belgium, Nominees: Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans. A man who must learn to dance the tango in two weeks asks an office colleague for help.
THE TONTO WOMAN; United Kingdom, Nominees: Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown. A cattle rustler meets a woman who is living in isolation after being held prisoner for eleven years by the Mojave Indians.

Animated Shorts (total running time for program is 90 minutes)
I MET THE WALRUS; Canada, Nominee: Josh Raskin. In 1969, 14-year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room with his tape recorder and persuaded him to do an interview.
MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI; Canada, Nominees: Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. A timid woman boards a mysterious night train and has a series of frightening experiences.
MEME LES PIGEONS VONT AU PARADIS (EVEN PIGEONS GO TO HEAVEN); France, Nominees: Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse. A priest tries to sell an old man a machine that he promises will transport him to heaven.
MY LOVE (MOYA LYUBOV); Russia, Nominee: Alexander Petrov. In 19th Century Russia, a teenage boy in search of love is drawn to two very different women. (This makes the fourth nomination for Petrov, was up for the Oscar in 1989 for THE COW, in 1997 for THE MERMAID and won in 1999, for his animated short THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.)
PETER & THE WOLF; United Kingdom & Poland, Nominees: Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman. A young boy and his animal friends face a hungry wolf in Prokofiev’s classic musical piece.
Locally at: Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema in San Francisco Francisco (415) 267-4893 and Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley (510) 464-5980 and the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. For those to the North and South, also at the Nickelodeon Theatres in Santa Cruz and Rialto Cinemas Lakeside in Santa Rosa. Check here for showtimes at Bay Area theaters and here for a full list of theaters across the country that will be playing the program.