Short of the Week
With Sunday 12th March almost upon us, soon we will find out the latest winners of the 95th Academy Awards. As mainstream media points its gaze at the latest fashions treading the infamous red carpet and the ceremony organisers hold their breath, hoping to avoid another controversy, here at Short of the Week we’ll be eagerly awaiting the announcement of the three short film categories (along with cheering on our alums the Daniels).
Voting for the awards closes on Tuesday 7th March, so by the time you read this, the decisions may already have been made, but as we took an in-depth look at the trends in the three short film categories recently, lets use this knowledge to make a few predictions…
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Best Animated Short Film
Winner: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Peter Baynton & Charlie Mackesy
The “big hitter” in the nominees as it screened on the BBC and Apple+ over Christmas, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, not only comes from a much-loved book, it has a classical aesthetic that we think will appeal to the Academy voters. Likened to seminal festive short The Snowman, Baynton and Mackesy’s film feels like the most accessible and family friendly of the bunch, and usually those are the qualities found in the winner of Best Animated Short Film.
Our Pick: My Year of Dicks by Sara Gunnarsdóttir & Pamela Ribbon
If you would have asked us to pick a winner of this category last year, we probably would have been prepared to put money on Dan Ojari and Mikey Please walking away with the Oscar for their Aardman short Robin Robin. Instead, the Academy surprised all of us and handed the award to Alberto Mielgo’s much more “adult” short The Windshield Wiper, so maybe there’s hope for My Year of Dicks? I mean…who wouldn’t love to hear that title read out at the Oscars?
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Best Documentary Short Film
Winner: The Elephant Whisperers by Kartiki Gonsalves
A moving story of an orphaned baby Elephant and the life-altering effect it has on his foster parents…come on, this has Oscar-winner written all over it, surely? Streaming on Netflix and only just shy of that 40-minute cutoff, the upbeat tone and life-affirming nature of Gonsalves’ doc instantly flagged it as the short we felt voters would be most drawn to.
Our Pick: Haulout by Evgenia Arbugaeva & Maxim Arbugaev
We’re big fans of a short film with an environmental angle here at S/W and Haulout manages to deliver an important message, while still feeling original. Some of the footage here is breathtaking and the moment the “stars” of this piece arrive on screen is on of our favorite scenes of recent times.
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Best Live-Action Short Film
Winner: Le Pupille (The Pupils) by Alice Rohrwacher
Already a well-established director, with her earlier feature work impressing on the festival circuit, Rohrwacher’s short was snapped up by Disney+ and although initially that seems like an odd acquisition, watching her short it’s easy to see the appeal. Another Christmas story, Le Pupille is a beautiful film to look at and its quirky and meticulous aesthetic makes it feel like a true celebration of cinema – something the Academy voters are sure to appreciate. Having already won the BAFTA, Ross White & Tom Berkeley’s An Irish Goodbye will push it all the way.
Our Pick: Le Pupille (The Pupils) by Alice Rohrwacher
We’re not usually big fans of the Live-Action nominees, but Rohrwacher’s short is undoubtedly the standout and for once, it looks like we’ll be in total agreement with the Academy voters. It will also be nice to see a Female director walk away with an award, as there’s not much chance of that happening in some of the “bigger” categories.