Short Peace is the name of Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo’s new omnibus feature comprised of four different shorts. It appears that Otomo’s Combustible, which qualified for Oscar consideration last year as a stand-alone short, will be part of the package.
Halcyon Realms points out the other directors who are involved in the project:
The four directors are Otomo himself, Morita Shuhei (Kakurenbo, Freedom Project), Hiroaki Ando (co-director of Tekkon Kinkreet) and Hajime Katoki (mecha designer for Gundam, Super Robot Wars, Virtua On, Patlabor and tons of other stuff.) Koji Morimoto has also been credited on the official page as the director of the film’s opening sequence.
The film’s website states that the film will premiere in Japan on July 20, 2013.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has shortlisted ten films for the Best Animated Short category. From these ten selections, five nominees will be selected:
Adam and Dog, Minkyu Lee, director (Lodge Films)
Combustible, Katsuhiro Otomo, director (Sunrise Inc.)
Dripped, Léo Verrier, director (ChezEddy)
The Eagleman Stag, Mikey Please, director, and Benedict Please, music scores and sound design (Royal College of Art)
The Fall of the House of Usher, Raul Garcia, director, and Stephan Roelants, producer (Melusine Productions, R&R Communications Inc., Les Armateurs, The Big Farm)
Fresh Guacamole, PES, director (PES)
Head over Heels, Timothy Reckart, director, and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, producer (National Film and Television School)
Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare, David Silverman, director (Gracie Films)
Paperman, John Kahrs, director (Disney Animation Studios)
Tram, Michaela Pavlátová, director, and Ron Dyens, producer (Sacrebleu Productions)
For the record, I tweeted a few days ago about the four films from this year’s qualifying animated shorts that I felt were truly Oscar-worthy. Not a single one was selected for the shortlist, but don’t let that stop you from seeking them out. They are all fantastic shorts that engage and challenge the viewer in a meaningful way: