This film was beautiful from the story to the filming. The child actors were quite genuine, adding a degree of believability. While watching, you can't help getting wrapped up in their story. Director Jake Mahaffey took a poignant story and turned it into a great short film.
I have seen the film at three different international film festivals - West Virginia, Athens (OH), and Venice (IT). In each case, the film stood very strongly against other films being shown. At Athens, the film was shown with a group of other short films in a series called, "The Boys We Love." While the Athens films were certainly of high quality, Miracle Boy held its own. At the Venice International Film Festival, Miracle Boy was screened with 7-8 other films of similar lengths, but with no unifying theme. This time, Miracle Boy blew the others away - not only for its story, but in aspects as simple as editing.
There is no reason that this film could not be considered for a nomination for an Academy Award.