Shorts: What Might Make This Year’s Shortlist?

I say it every year, but the short film categories can make or break your ballot in terms of predicting, but we are going to take a step back before that even happens. There are literally hundreds of short films across all three categories vying for 45 available slots–15 in each Animated, Live Action, and Documentary, respectively. These are some of the most unpredictable and volatile categories every year since there isn’t nearly as much coverage until the shortlists come out. One thing to remember, though, is that if a voter reacts strongly to something or believe in a subject matter, they will vote for it. I believe that you see passion take hold when these shortlists drop.

The Academy’s rules state that there are two ways for a short film to qualify for these awards. You either have to have had a theatrical run for a certain period of time or you must have won a prize at an Oscar-qualifying film festival.

Let’s look at these three categories and see if we can predict what might show up on Tuesday, shall we?

Animated Short Film
I am always excited to see the international titles and various styles of animation that come with the shortlists. I always think that they respond to how something is animated as well as the story itself. I think my favorite example of this is when La Maison en Petits Cubes beat out Pixar’s Presto in 2008. Never underestimate how animation can give someone permission to feel.

Always count on Disney to show up on this first preliminary round. The Mouse House usually gets shortlisted even if they don’t always make the top five on nomination morning (like last year’s Once Upon a Studio), and they have two contenders really in the hunt: David Lowery’s An Almost Christmas Story and Searit Huluf’s Self. Both film’s have a unique animation point of view, but they have notable differences. Lowery’s film uses cardboard to look like stop-motion animation while boasting voice talent like John C. Reilly and Natasha Lyonne while Huluf’s short is a tale of self-acceptance using sounds in place of dialogue. Both have incredible textures.

If we want to go off of festival winner presence I think it’s safe to count on Wander to Wonder making the shortlist. Nina Gantz’s film has won prizes as HollyShorts and the Nashville Film Festival. If your childhood still recalls fond memories of television shows this short, about three characters from a children’s show who find themselves left behind after their creator dies, might resonate. A differnt kind of Toy Story, if you will.

When I saw The Brown Dog, from directors Nadia Hallgren and Jamie-James Medina, I knew that it would click with voters. It won at IndyShorts, and I think the themes of loneliness and the hunger to connect with someone will resonate with viewers who check it out. It helps that it features Michael K. Williams’ incendiary voicework in one of his final performances.

Other critical favorites include: A Crab inthe Pool, Boat People, and Beautiful Men

Do not assume that Animated Short will be full of cutesy animals and bright colors. Remember Bestia? Pachyderme from last year? If Anything Happens, I Love You? This year, we see great films about PTSD (In the Shadow of the Cypress), grief and challenging authority (Where Rabbits Come From), and, of course, a mole with a hot derriere (Bug Diner).

Animated Short Film Predictions (in alphabetical order):
An Almost Christmas Story
And Granny Would Dance
Beautiful Men
The Brown Dog
Bug Diner
The Car That Came Back from the Sea
A Crab in the Pool
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Maybe Elephants
LUKI and the Lights
On the 8th Day
Percebes
Summer ’96
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!

Watch Out For: Edith and the Tall Child, Ghost of the Dark Path, Joko, The Meatseller, Prostrate and Draw Near, Remember Us, Self, Sunflower Field, A Wind and the Shadow

Documentary Short Film
I think a good jumping off point when considering titles for Documentary Short is to look at the titles available from Netflix and The New Yorker. Netflix has a strong track record of getting multiple titles in, and the streamer has won with The White Helmets, Period. End of Sentence, and, most recently, The Elephant Whisperers. They have four titles in the hunt this year with Julia’s Stepping Stones, Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World, The Only Girl in the Orchestra, and The Turnaround. I actually think this is Netflix’s strongest crop in years–do all of them make it in with the expansion to 15 finalists? I reviewed all four shorts in a previous post, and all of the titles are available to stream on Netflix.

The docs from The New Yorker cover a wide swath of topics including leaving your home (Goodbye, Morganza) to police violence (Incident), to matters surrounding elections in the United States (in Denial and Public Defender). To my delight, there are three docs (I’m Okay, Love to the Max, and Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr) that cover battles against the queer and trans communities.

This brings in the most curious debate/question when it comes to this category. Are there titles and subjects that people don’t want to explore because they might view them as too sensitive? A few years back, The New York Times’ Day of Rage, which looked at the timelines of January 6th, 2021, was one that battled with personally since it felt too raw. Denial and Public Defender won’t cause as much anxiety as that, I am thankful to report.

Ben Proudfoot, current winner in this category for The Last Repair Shop last year with Kris Bowers, is a co-director for Netflix’s The Turnaround. He also has The Final Copy of Ilon Specht, and he executive produced Motorcycle Mary from director Haley Watson.

Looking at the qualifying festivals list, there are some great titles in contention. Safe Place won at the Austin Film Festival, Ever Since, I Have Been Flying took honors in Melbourne, and Autism Plays Itself was named Best International Short Documentary at Hot Docs.

I feel like there are so many worthy films in fighting for only 15 slots, so let’s just take a crack at it.

Documentary Short Film Predictions (in alphabetical order):
Calls
Denial
The Candy Factory
Chasing Roo
Frank
How to Sue the Klan
I Am Ready Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
Julia’s Stepping Stones
Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World
Motorcycle Mary
Once Upon a Time in Ukraine
A Swim Lesson
The Turnaround

Watch Out For: Anaïs, Eternal Father, The Final Copy of Ilon Specht, Goodbye, Morganza, It’s Okay, Love to the Max, A Man’s Man, A Move, The Medallion, The Path Forward, Public Defender, Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr, Shotplayer, A State of Rage, Then Comes the Body, Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way

Live Action Short Film
All three of these categories have robust contenders, but I am aghast at how many players are here in this year’s Live Action Short Film race.

Last year, we had two major directors really headlining this race with Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar (which went on to win the Oscar) and Pedro Almodóvar’s A Strange Way of Life (whose journey ended with the shortlist). This season doesn’t really have that despite notable directors and performers headlining a lot of strong films. My rule of thumb is that voters respond to a good story, and it doesn’t hurt if there is strong social commentary.

Of the contenders that I have seen, I think the strongest cases come with The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (winner at Cannes), The Masterpiece (winner at Sundance, Aspen and Berlin), and Clodagh (winner at Cleveland, Belfast, and a nominee at AFI). The first two films carry a thrilling pace while Portia A. Buckley’s drama could be a real crowd favorite. I would also add Jasmin Mozaffari’s Motherland for how she explores her personal relationship with her father but also shows how this past could come back to haunt our futures.

I was so thrilled to see An Avocado Pit make the shortlist last year, and director Ary Zara made history as the first trans director to have their film advance to the shortlist. I am worried that some fantastic queer films will be given the room they deserve. They all deal with the queer experience in a way that isn’t solely about the characters coming out or being queer. I want to predict them, but I am scared of being heartbroken. I am very proud to include them in the Watch Out For section, because I love them all. I hope voting members know how valuable these artists’ visions are to the survival of queer and trans visibility.

Live Action Short Film predictions (in alphabetical order:)
Anuja
Bogotá Story
Calf
Clodagh
The Compatriot
Corpse Fishing
Dovecote
I’m Not a Robot
La Cascada
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
The Masterpiece
Motherland
Room Taken
Sister Wives
Unser Kind

Watch Out For: Auganic, Buscando Alma, Crust, Deck 5B, Dive, Dragon Fruit, Favourites, From Above, Good Daughter, A Good Day Will Come, Hamdardi, The Heart of Texas, In the Garden of Tulips, Marion, Neither Donkey Nor Horse, Over the Board, Oyu, Pigeons Are Dying, When the City Is On Fire, Ripe!, Ryan Can’t Read, Sunflower, The Talent, Tea, Unibrow, Will I See You Again?