Windrider at Sundance invites Oscar to Opening Night

Ariel Nasr

Continuing the tradition of bringing Oscar nominated short films to Sundance, the 9th annual Wiindrider Forum will showcase not ONE but TWO recent Academy Award nominated short films on it’s opening night, Jan. 21st. Buzkashi Boys, nominated for Best Short Film and Head Over Heels, nominated for Best Animated Short Film will screen with filmmaker interviews to follow.  “This is now the fourth year in a row that Windrider has brought in an Oscar nominated short, including 2011 when God Of Love and Luke Matheny brought home the golden statue,” noted Windrider director, Will Stoller-Lee.

Sam French

Buzkashi Boys is an eye-opening look at a corner of the world that is still a huge mystery for many people in the West.  It is the story of two young boys battling cultural expectations and poverty to chase after their dream of playing buzkashi, the Afghan national sport which is a blend of polo and rugby.

This ground-breaking narrative film was shot entirely on location in Kabul by an alliance of Afghan and international filmmakers, led by producer Ariel Nasr and director, Sam French. “The news about Afghanistan is full of bombs, bullets, and burqas, not the stories of the people,” said French.“One of my missions became to show the world another side of the country.”
http://www.buzkashiboys.com/148327/trailer

Timothy Reckart

Head Over Heels writer/director Timothy Reckart creates a brilliant stop motion animation short depicting how the marriage of Walter and Madge has grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. When Walter tries to reignite their old romance, their equilibrium comes crashing down, and the couple that can’t agree which way is up must find a way put their marriage back together. http://vimeo.com/37604847

Windrider Forum is proud to host these three outstanding filmmakers, Ariel Nasr, Sam French and Timothy Reckart, along with their Oscar nominated films, for a week of cinematic exploration at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.