LOS ANGELES — The 2022 Oscar-nominated animated short films plumb the heart — and the heart of darkness. They're from the U.S., England, Spain, Chile and Russia and decidedly not for kids (except for, effectively, a kooky Christmas special by the folks at Aardman). They present nightmares, grotesques ... and a visually stunning meditation on the nature of romantic love.
"Affairs of the Art": This joint U.K.-Canada production is a continuation of a series of roughly sketched films about Beryl, a 59-year-old factory worker longing to become an artist. It's comedic, finding the ugliness and awkwardness within its subjects and presenting it for laughs (which it also does with a few instances of cruelty to animals).
Producer-screenwriter Les Mills explains Beryl's popularity: "The audience likes her. What she represents isn't often represented in movies: A slightly overweight, middle-aged, working-class woman." As he says it, director Joanna Quinn emphatically points to herself on a video call.
