If you're a serious cinema buff, you've probably already seen The Artist and The Descendants by now. Unless you've earned some serious frequent flyer miles visiting film festivals around the country, though, it's unlikely you've seen all the live-action short films nominated for Oscars this year. This program makes it easy to catch up. Among the five nominated films are The Shore, from Hotel Rwanda director Terry George, and Raju, a German film about a couple that discovers great poverty during a trip to adopt a child in India. Those dramas are offset by light comedies: The Irish short Pentecost likens the Catholic Church to soccer, the surreal Norwegian black comedy Tuba Atlantic covers the final acts of a grizzled fisherman whose doctor gives him one week to live, and the lone American contender, Time Freak, introduces a physics student who creates a time machine. (Multiple screenings through Feb. 23.)
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