The Oscar-nominated short films, arriving in theaters this week, offer a concentrated dose of cinematic storytelling, proving that impact isn’t always tied to runtime. This year’s selections, spanning live action, documentary, and animation, tackle diverse themes with innovative approaches and powerful performances. The competition is particularly strong across all three categories, making predictions a challenge.
Nuance and Heart in Live Action
The live action shorts offer a mixed bag of approaches, often inspired by classic literature and elevated by strong performances. Lee Knight’s “A Friend of Dorothy”, while direct in its exploration of the cultural and emotional impact of a London widow on a closeted teenager, shines thanks to the undeniable chemistry between Miriam Margolyes and Alistair Nwachukwu, radiating warmth and humor. Another standout is “Jane Austen’s Period Drama,” a clever twist on the author’s work from Steve Pinder and Julia Aks (who also stars). The film functions as a calling card for feature comedy, and its sprightly cast delivers on the premise of a playful “what if” scenario.
Meyer Levinson-Blount’s “Butcher’s Stain,” centered on an accusation against a Palestinian butcher in an Israeli market, undercuts its gripping story with lackadaisical filmmaking and an unnecessary subplot, though lead Omar Sameer delivers a commanding performance. The black-and-white future shock “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, is an uneven exploration of intimacy and casual violence – kissing is punishable by death, slapping is currency – but is given exquisite tautness by the elegant, unrequited swooniness of stars Zar Amir and Luana Bajrami.
Sam A. Davis’ “The Singers,” adapted from an Ivan Turgenev short story, is a likely winner, paying off handsomely in soulful vocal performances that briefly transform a barroom into a temple of feeling.
Sobering Realities in Documentary Shorts
Many of this year’s documentary nominees address grim tragedies. “All the Empty Rooms” and “Children No More: Were and Are Gone” both deal with the remembrance of children killed. Joshua Seftel’s “All the Empty Rooms” follows CBS correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they document the bedrooms of children gunned down in school shootings, preserved by their families. Hilla Medalia’s “Children No More: Were and Are Gone” witnesses silent vigils in Tel Aviv for children in Gaza, protests marked by posters and sometimes met with scorn. These are dutiful, sobering acts of mourning, with Seftel’s film likely to be the awardee.
Craig Renaud’s “Armed Only With a Camera” memorializes his brother, Brent Renaud, an award-winning photojournalist killed in Ukraine in 2022, but feels oddly uninvolving, more an excerpted flipbook of Brent’s assignments than a meaningful portrait of his work. A more affecting dispatch is “The Devil Is Busy,” directed by Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir, observing a day in the operation of a carefully guarded, female-run Georgia abortion clinic. The film portrays the clinic as a last chance healthcare outpost, getting by on grit, compassion and prayer, and introduces viewers to security head Tracii, the clinic’s heavyhearted protector.
Alison McAlpine’s “Perfectly a Strangeness” is an appealing and aptly titled film, sans humans, starring three donkeys who encounter a cluster of hilltop observatories. The film finds an enchanting balance between storybook allure and adult trickery, and offers a gorgeously shot ode to discovery.
Animation: Worlds Conjured and Messages Delivered
Animation thrives on conjured worlds, as exemplified by Konstantin Bronzit’s wordless (but not soundless) desert island farce “The Three Sisters.” The film owes nothing to Chekhov – though You’ll see seagulls – but much to a classically Russian sense of humor and a Chaplinesque ingenuity. Christian Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears’ “Forevergreen” is an overly cute homily about a nurturing tree, a restless bear, and the allure of potato chips. The message gets muddled, but the eco-conscious journey is charming.
John Kelly’s “Retirement Plan” is a wryly relatable film, as Domhnall Gleeson narrates a middle-aged man’s ambitious post-career goals. The thickly-lined and mundanely hued images stress a poignant, finite reality. It’s an entertainingly cynical counterpoint to a typical graduation speech.
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” is a spindly, aged-doll puppetry gem, a sly fable of need, greed, and destiny centered on a wealthy grandfather’s reimagining of his poverty-stricken childhood in 19th century Montreal. The filmmakers find an enchanting balance between storybook allure and adult trickery. Florence Miailhe’s “Butterfly” imagines the last, memory-laden swim of Jewish French-Algerian athlete Alfred Nakache, who competed in the Olympics before and after the Holocaust. Rendered with thick-brushed painterliness and splashes of sound, the film travels across flashes of community, injustice, achievement, love, and despair, with water serving as a haven and a poetic life force.
The 2026 Oscar-nominated short films are currently playing in limited release.
