Ever wonder what the heck those live-action and animated shorts nominated for Academy Awards are all about? So do I, since almost none of them are seen around here. Now there's an opportunity, if you don't mind driving a bit.

The Sarasota Film Society has just announced that the 2007 Academy Award Nominated Live Action and Animated Shorts will be screened at the Lakewood Ranch Cinemas on Saturday, February 16th and Sunday, February 17th at 10:00 a.m., and the Animated Shorts will be screened on Saturday, February 23 & Sunday, February 24th at 10:00 a.m.

Admission is $7.75 for non-members and $5 for members and tickets will be available at the box office or online at filmsociety.org

The Lakewood Ranch Cinemas are located at the foot of Main Street in Lakewood Ranch. Directions are available on the website.

In a news release, Film Society executive director Jerry Kovar said, "This is a great opportunity for our audience to see all of the nominated short films before the winners are announced at the 80th Academy Awards ceremony. They deserve to be seen, and we are excited to be able to present them."

The nominees for Live Action Shorts include:

AT NIGHT (Denmark, In Danish w/English Subtitles, 40 min) Three young women share their problems while spending the holidays in a hospital cancer ward.

IL SUPPLENTE (THE SUBSTITUTE) (Italy, In Italian w/English Subtitles 17 min) The arrival of an unusual newcomer galvanizes the students in a high school classroom.

TANGHI ARGENTINI (Belgium, In French w/English Subtitles, 13 min) A man who must learn to dance the tango in two weeks asks an office colleague for help.

LE MOZART DES PICKPOCKETS (THE MOZART OF PICKPOCKETS) (France, In French w/English Subtitles, 31min) A pair of unlucky thieves find their fortunes have changed when they take in a deaf homeless boy.

THE TONTO WOMAN (UK, In English, 36 min) A cattle rustler meets a woman who is living in isolation after being held prisoner for eleven years by the Mojave Indians.

The nominees for Animated Shorts include:

I MET THE WALRUS (Canada, In English, 5 min) In 1969, fourteen-year-old Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room with his tape recorder and persuaded him to do an interview.

MADAME TUTLI-PUTLI (Canada, Silent, 17 min) A timid woman boards a mysterious night train and has a series of frightening experiences.

MEME LES PIGEONS VONT AU PARADIS (EVEN PIGEONS GO TO HEAVEN) (France, In French w/English Subtitles, 9 min) A priest tries to sell an old man a machine that he promises will transport him to heaven.

MY LOVE (MOYA LYUBOV) (Russia, In Russian w/English Subtitles, 27 min) In nineteenth-century Russia, a teenage boy in search of love is drawn to two very different women.

PETER & THE WOLF (UK & Poland, Silent, 27 min) A young boy and his animal friends face a hungry wolf in Prokofiev's classic musical piece.