With the 97th Oscars just under three months away, the race for the short film awards is heating up with today’s (Tue, Dec 17) announcement of the shortlists. As anticipated, several S/W alumni have made the cut and a few of the nominated films are already available to watch online – either for free or via streaming platforms.

Check out the 45 shortlisted titles below or visit Shortverse for the complete collection. Use Shortverse “filters” to manipulate the collection to see the doc, animation, and live-action lineups individually, or to isolate films online and ready to watch right now.

Best Animated Short

Un trou dans la poitrine (A Crab in the Pool)

Previous winner: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko by Dave Mullins

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Best Documentary Short

instruments of a beating heart

Previous winner: The Last Repair Shop by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

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Best Live-Action Short

A Lien Short Film

Previous winner: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Wes Anderson

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Reaction

In the immediate aftermath, here are some quick impressions from S/W co-founder Jason Sondhi.

  • These shortlists are…good? An upward trend in the quality of the Animation and Documentary categories has been underway for a couple of years, but as recently as last January I called the Live-Action shortlist “embarrassing”. This list is not that! Minimal star-chasing, vetted major festival winners, and even the films that didn’t campaign hard, like A Lien, are excellent. A promising first year for the new short films branch.
  • Student Academy Awards Continue to Be Predictors. The Gold Medal winners in Animation, Documentary, and Narrative at October’s ceremony all made it through to their respective shortlists, as did the narrative and animation silver medalists. It is the strongest showing of Student Oscar winners I can remember, and yet the continuation of a recent trend. 
  • From Ground Zero Takes Shorts to the International Film Category. Palestine’s official entry for the International Feature Film category progressed to the shortlist too. It is a short film anthology that we covered recently. Congrats to Rashid Masharawi and the entire team behind the project!
  • A-List Festivals at the Table. The top prize winners from festivals don’t always fare well, but this year’s shortlists have the reigning Cannes Palme d’or, Annecy Cristal, and Sundance Jury Prize winners. 
  • Largely New Faces. Many of these filmmakers are well-known and well-regarded, but few have been up for Oscars before. This is somewhat unusual, as experienced producers and  institutional players build up an advantage over time so you usually see the shortlists peppered with familiar faces. This year I spot Skye Fitzgerald and Torill Kove as directors who have been previously nominated, as well as…
  • Is it Hertzfeldt’s Turn? The most famous and popular of the nominees, Hertzfeldt has been nominated twice before with Rejected and World of Tomorrow but has yet to take home a statuette. Will a third time be the charm? His rabid fan base will be hoping so. 

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View Previous Oscar-nominated films, winners and further coverage from the awards on our dedicated channel.