For those who only have the most casual relationship with the Oscars, the short film categories may be relegated to a section you skim over quickly before moving on upon realizing you have no familiarity with any of the titles. This approach is understandable, but it unfortunately means you are missing out on some of the most interesting and inventive filmmaking in the whole ceremony. These are the categories where you might discover the next Taika Waititi, Martin McDonagh or Andrea Arnold – all nominated for Best Live Action Short in the past. Plus, these three sections are where Oscar pools are made and broken. If you are a fan of film, you owe it to yourself to see what these sections have to offer. Every year ShortsTV brings these titles to cinemas and this year is no different. Head to ShortsTV to discover an in-person or virtual cinema where you can view these films and learn about Digital and VOD options.
While we definitely encourage everyone to check out these shorts for themselves, we are going to do our best to guide you through the nominated films this year and give you our impression of what might take home the little gold man this Sunday.
Animation
If there is one thing you can count on every year in this section, it is that you will more likely than not find a Pixar short. While it did not get to play theatrically, Burrow was paired with Soul on Disney+ and definitely had the most eyeballs prior to nomination morning. This is a tale of a young loner rabbit who is trying to dig a home underground but keeps running into a cadre of adorable critters. This conventional and polished piece has a nice message about the importance of community, but overall this feels a bit too safe and obvious.
French animator Adrien Mérigeau’s Genius Loci, on the other hand, takes a more abstract approach to its storytelling with a beautiful use of watercolors. In this one, a young Black woman named Reine swirls through urban Paris on a surreal journey filled with morphing figures and tons of symbolism. The themes get a bit muddled along the journey, but it is a beauty to behold.
For sheer scale, you cannot help but be wowed by Korean artist Erick Oh’s Opera. In simple terms, this short showcases a society of stick figures encapsulated in a pyramid with distinct chambers in which the “citizens” go about their daily lives under the heavy hand of a ruler at the top. The camerawork is not flashy, but the composition is incredibly busy with a level of individual detail that is staggering to consider. There are so many parts of the screen that you will want to take in that you may want to view this one multiple times.
The Icelandic Yes-People is a lighthearted look at the little domestic annoyances that an assortment of apartment residents inflict on one another (e.g. soup slurping, clarinet practices). The shaggy, exaggerated appearance of the characters is a fun touch and the story is a lighter diversion from some of the more serious topics.
The standout short in this section is If Anything Happens I Love You from co-directors Michael Govier and Will McCormack. This piece follows two parents who are steeped in grief after a tragedy and how these two go about coping with their heartbreaking reality. The animation is mostly pencil sketches, but the form which it takes is truly wondrous and hits you like a ton of bricks by the time you reach the gut-wrenching finale. The key use of a King Princess song helps make the waterworks flow even harder in one of the most beautiful works of the year. This should be an essential watch.
Oscar Prediction: The combination of timely topic and emotional devastation should help If Anything Happens I Love You clinch the win, but Burrow could sneak in and take it if voters pick Pixar out of habit.
Live Action
If voters are going to gravitate towards star power, you might just find The Letter Room prevailing come Oscar night. This will be with the help of another Oscar – Oscar Isaac. Isaac plays a prison guard who gets a new position scanning the incoming and outgoing inmate correspondence. The character gets a little too invested in what he is reading which leads to some questionable decision making. In comparison with the other shorts, this one is a bit bland outside of the presence of Isaac. The win would be for him and not because the short deserves it.
White Eye takes on the Israel/Palestine conflict in the abstract when a man finds a bike that was stolen from him a month prior locked up outside of a building and the issues that arise when he tries to reclaim it. The topic of deportation looms large over this saga in which communication and understanding is in short supply. This short is intentionally frustrating and leaves you with an impactful ending.
Where the previous short deals in metaphor, The Present tackles the Israel/Palestine conflict head on when an Arab father and his daughter try to accomplish the simple task of crossing the border to buy his wife a refrigerator but run into numerous obstacles and humiliations. This one will have you holding your breath and praying that tragedy does not strike. The execution works really well and will leave you justifiably enraged.
Beautifully sentimental without being cloying, Feeling Through steals the show in this group. This short spotlights a young Black homeless man who is trying to find a friend to stay with before everyone retires for the night. Before he can get to his destination, he crosses paths with a blind and deaf man who needs assistance getting home. This short could have very easily become a blatant “issue” movie, but it leaves its foot firmly planted in the realm of effective character piece. This is the short that will leave people feeling the best about humanity.
Reactions for Two Distant Strangers will be wildly different from person to person. Rapper Joey Badass plays a young Black New Yorker who finds himself trapped in a time-loop in which every day ends with him being killed unjustly by the police. To call this short entertaining would be the wrong word, but the use of genre to bravely tackle such a difficult subject is an easy way to get people to see how every day is an exercise in survival for people of color. While the way in which the narrative is resolved may not work for all, the technical merits of the piece are solid across the board.
Oscar Prediction: The last year has been rough, so I am going to bank on the Academy wanting to reward something that makes them feel good such as Feeling Through. Although, it would not surprise me if the name recognition of Oscar Isaac was enough for The Letter Room to pick up a win.
Documentary
There is not much in the way of happiness in this collection of nominees, but the raw emotion that stems from them makes this journey a worthwhile one. Love Song For Latasha is a memory piece that tells the all-too-familiar story of senseless gun violence perpetrated on a young Black girl. While the event is the catalyst for this short, the piece primarily focuses on bringing her to life through reflections on her life from her family and friends. The short could have gone a little more in depth to make this even more impactful, but it’s quite an emotional journey as is.
Colette is the type of documentary that you expect to get nominated, but that does not mean it is not deserved. When 90-year-old Colette, a former member of the French Resistance in WWII, goes to visit the concentration camp where her brother was killed during the war, it is a heart wrenching experience. The woman is a force even at her advanced age, but the impact of visiting such a notorious place is too much even for her. A young docent who is documenting these atrocities accompanies her on this visit in what becomes a highly emotional bonding experience for the two.
If any of these shorts would be given the label “feel good”, the closest would be A Concerto Is A Conversation. In this short, young Black composer Kris Bowers (Green Book) has a beautiful conversation with his 91 year-old grandfather in which he details his struggle to make a mark in a racist, unforgiving world. Bowers’ grandfather is a real animated character who brings a jovial wisdom to his hard-fought success that ultimately lifts you up in this tight 13-minute piece.
Hunger Ward is a really tough but critically important documentary following the efforts of a hospital in war-torn Yemen trying to combat childhood starvation. The images of malnourished children will haunt you in the way that it should. Visceral footage of children and adults who have been caught in bomb blasts and people dying on camera is shown in unsparing detail. These filmmakers are doing their job by exposing the sickening effects the civil war has on the average citizen in Yemen.
The final documentary short Do No Split is an incendiary look at the conflict between Hong Kong and China that follows young Hong Kong protestors leading the anti-China movement in 2019. This fight for democracy is filled with truly eye-popping footage of fire bombs being hurled from both sides and tear gas being used in excess. The social relevance of a democracy under attack should make an impression on those willing to engage with it. Out of all of the documentary shorts, this one has the best balance of propulsive energy and urgency.
Oscar Prediction: Smart money would say to go with the shortest and most pleasant of these shorts, A Concerto Is A Conversation, but I am going to bank on the Academy being traditional and honoring a film about the Holocaust. Colette is my pick to win this category, but a surprise from Do Not Split would make me incredibly happy.
Head to ShortsTV to discover an in-person or virtual cinema where you can view these films and learn about Digital and VOD options.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
