Magnolia Pictures is on the case of the year's Oscar nominated shorts once again.  Here is the press release, in part:

New York, NY, January 22, 2008 -- Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International  have announced they will partner for the third year running to bring the ten Oscar®-nominated short films (live-action and animated) to U.S. theatres on February 15th, giving audiences around the country an opportunity to see all ten nominated films prior to the 80th Academy Awards ceremony.

The Oscar Shorts program will open initially in approximately 50 cities on February 15 and will continue to expand in the following weeks.  Says Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles, “Last year’s program was a success, and we’re anticipating an even bigger opening this year. People are excited about having the opportunity to see these excellent films together in one place, not to mention getting a leg up in their office Oscar pools.”

...Eight of the ten nominated filmmakers are newcomers to the Oscars® this year.  The two returning nominees are director, Alexander Petrov and producer Anja Daelemans.  Petrov who is up for his fourth nomination, was nominated in 1989 for THE COW and 1997 for THE MERMAID.  In 1999, his film THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA won the Academy Award® for Best Animated Short.  Daelemans was nominated in 2002 for FAIT D’HIVER in the live-action category.

In addition to a 2007 Oscar nomination, many of the short films have garnered awards from U.S. and international film festivals.   PETER & THE WOLF, the animated short from director Suzie Templeton and producer Hugh Welchman was nominated for a BAFTA last year for a BAFTA. I MET THE WALRUS, from director Josh Raskin won Best Animated Short at the 2007 AFI Film Festival.   TANGHI ARGENTINI, the live action short from director Guido Thys and producer Anja Daelemans has received 18 wins including the Best Foreign Film at the L.A. Shorts Fest in 2007.  THE TONTO WOMAN, based on the Elmore Leonard short story, from director Daniel Barber and producer Matthew Brown won Best in Fest from the L.A. Shorts Fest, and Best Film over thirty minutes at the Palm Springs Festival, both in 2007.

Sasha Stone, meanwhile, has been busy hunting down a bunch of these films over at Awards Daily.  Should give us some insight as to what's what in these races.  Take a look.