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'Possessions' & Other Oscar-Nominated Shorts to Play in U.S.

Shuhei Morita and Sunrise's "Possessions" ("Tsukumo") Oscar-nominated anime short will screen in over 400 theaters in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The ShortsHD television channel will distribute the 2014 Oscar-nominated animation, live-action, and documentary shorts. Theaters will begin screenings on January 31.

The animated shorts Oscar nominees include:

• "Possessions" ("Tsukumo") by Shuhei Morita
  
• "Feral" by Daniel Sousa and Dan Golden
  
• "Get a Horse!" by Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim
  
• "Mr. Hublot" by Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares
  
• "Room on the Broom" by Max Lang and Jan Lachauer
  

"Possessions" is a part of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Short Peace omnibus project that assembles "top creators at the leading edge of Japanese animation, exploring possible future avenues of expression." The omnibus film opened in Japan on July 20. The Annecy film festival described the 14-minute film as follows: "One night in the 18th Century, deep in the mountains, a man loses his way and comes across a small shrine. As he enters, the space transforms into a room of a different world."

So far, the shorts are scheduled to play at Landmark's Nuart Theater in Los Angeles on January 31 and The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, California on February 28.

The shorts will also be available on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and DirecTV beginning on January 31.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tips.

Sources: Hitflix, Computer Graphics World