Oscar Nominated Documentary "How Do You Measure a Year?" Here HereI

The five short documentary films that received this year's Oscar nominations deserve their recognitions.  The modest, disarming entry, "How Do You Measure a Year?" is a home-movie compiled over 17 years following the the filmmaker's daughter on her birthday being asked annually, identical questions.  This low budget offering flows with warmth thanks to the delightful nature of the film's focus, Ella.  We first meet cherubic faced Ella on her second birthday.  Ella is only too glad to be doted on by her dad.  Dad is Jay Rosenblatt, an award winning filmmaker who features in experimental documentary and collage films has earned him a second Oscar nomination for best documentary.  Last year Rosenblatt was nominated for his film, "When We Were Bullies."  This year's entry hits very close to home.  Rosenblatt's commitment for filming his daughter morphs into a beloved father/daughter tradition.  The delightful results are admirable for their tenacity, ingenuity and for the film's engaging subject, Ella.  Noting the passage of time is an elusive and intoxicating metric of change.   When fleeting images and ideas are aligned clearly, our breath is swept away by their scope.   Very little changes in the frame,  yet monumental change occur as if by magic right before our eyes.  Ella is queries vary little regarding her favorite things, dreams, aspirations and trepidations.  Her answers and physique evolve in maturation as time goes by.   I assure you, there was not a dry eye in the house at the end of this charming and profound subject study.  Universal coming of age experiences and emotions experienced by Ella are magnanimously shared and memorialized in loving tribute to familial bonds and human connections.  I'm invested in learning what the future portends for Ella.   Prior to viewing "How Do You Measure a Year," I would've been cynical of a documentary of such simple conceit being placed in position to compete for an Academy Award.  However, Jay Rosenblatt's personal tribute to his daughter Ella, will be remembered long after awards are handed out.