While debates over the quality of the short films selected by the Academy are sure to continue, the prestige of these awards is undeniable. At Short of the Week, we’ve always followed the process closely, but this year we feel even more involved – with Jason taking on the mamooth task of diving into the qualified films across all categories – Animation, Documentary, and Live-Action – and sharing his insights.

Our coverage usually kicks off at the shortlist announcement. Even though we started a bit earlier this year, the real excitement begins at this stage, when the extensive lists – 113 in Animation, 117 in Documentary, and 207 in Live-Action – are narrowed down to just 45 films. As always, some great films didn’t make the cut, but congratulations to those that did.

VIEW ALL 45 FILMS IN THE SHORT FILM SHORTLISTS

Below, you’ll find the official list of films in contention for the Short Film Oscars, along with information on which are available to watch and where. We’ll keep this list updated as more films become accessible – as they always do.

Best Animated Short

Retirement Plan Short film

John Kelly’s Retirement Plan is one of the S/W team’s favorites in the Best Animated Short Film category

  • Autokar by Sylwia Szkiłądź | Watch Trailer
  • Papillon (Butterfly) by Florence Miailhe | Film Page
  • Cardboard by J.P. Vine | Watch Trailer
  • Éiru by Giovanna Ferrari | Watch Trailer
  • Forevergreen by Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears | Watch Trailer
  • La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles (The Girl Who Cried Pearls) by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski | Watch Trailer
  • Hurikán by Jan Saska | Watch Trailer
  • I Died in Irpin by Anastasiia Falileieva | Watch Trailer
  • Les Bottes de la nuit (The Night Boots) by Pierre-Luc Granjon | Watch Trailer
  • Playing God by Matteo Burani | Watch Trailer
  • The Quinta’s Ghost by James A. Castillo | Watch Trailer
  • Retirement Plan by John Kelly | Watch Film
  • The Shyness of Trees by Sofia Chuikovska, Loick du Plessis D’Argentre, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras, Bingqing Shu | Watch Film
  • Snow Bear by Aaron Blaise | Watch Film
  • The Three Sisters by Timur Kognov | Watch Trailer

Previous winner: In the Shadow of the Cypress by Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani

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Best Documentary Short

We Were The Scenery Short film

Christopher Radcliff’s We Were The Scenery was featured on our site in late November 2025

  • All the Empty Rooms by Joshua Seftel | Watch Film (Netflix Online)
  • All the Walls Came Down by Ondi Timoner | Watch Trailer
  • Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud by Craig Renaud & Brent Renaud | Watch Film (HBO Max only)
  • Bad Hostage by Mimi Wilcox | Film Page
  • Cashing Out by Matt Nadel | Watch Film
  • Chasing Time by Sarah Keo & Jeff Orlowski | Watch Film (PBS – US Only)
  • Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” by Hilla Medalia | Watch Trailer
  • Classroom 4 by Eden Wurmfeld | Watch Film (PBS – US Only)
  • The Devil Is Busy by Geeta Gandbhir & Christalyn Hampton | Watch Film  (HBO Max only)
  • Heartbeat by Jay Rosenblatt & Stephanie Rapp | Film Page
  • Last Days on Lake Trinity by Charlotte Cooley | Watch Film
  • On Healing Land, Birds Perch by Naja Phạm Lockwood | Film Page
  • Perfectly a Strangeness by Alison McAlpine | Watch Trailer
  • Rovina’s Choice by Annie Wong & Thomas Jennings | Watch Film
  • We Were the Scenery by Christopher Radcliff | Watch Film

Previous winner: The Only Girl in the Orchestra by Molly O’Brien

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Best Live-Action Short

Two People Exchanging Saliva

Two People Exchanging Saliva was featured on Short of the Week in Nov 2025

Previous winner: I’m Not a Robot by Victoria Warmerdam

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Reaction

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

ANIMATION

  • Student Oscars continue to be a predictor. Three winners from the Fall make the shortlist: The Shyness of Trees in Animation, plus Butcher’s Stain, and Dad’s Not Home in Live Action.
  • We love the animated student shorts from Gobelins, and The Shyness of Trees will be shooting for the school’s first nomination since Oktapodi.
  • Sticking with Animation, a Stop-Motion short has not won in almost 20 years, not since 2007’s Peter and the Wolf. Two heavyweight contenders move on with hopes of ending that streak: The NFB’s The Girl Who Cried Pearls, and the insanely impressive (and creepy!) Italian short, Playing God, distributed by fellow powerhouse, Autour de Minuit.
  • No major studio film makes the cut in Animation, continuing a recent trend. The closest, and called out as a favorite in our Longlist preview, is Éiru, from Ireland’s beloved Cartoon Saloon.
  • Big studio fans will instead likely latch on to Snow Bear from experienced animator Aaron Blaise. Drawn, by hand, in the spirit of Disney’s Renaissance era, the filmmaker is known for his work on films like Aladdin and The Lion King, and this short has received over 1M views in just the past two weeks.
  • Also highlighted in our Longlist preview, Miyu Distribution is hoping to break through after racking up a number of nominations in recent years. They have three contenders moving forward with Autokar, Hurikán, and The Shyness of Trees
  • That European influence on the Academy is keenly felt, with only three US films making the cut compared to 11 European shorts. That leaves a good chance that the US will be left out of the nominations for a second consecutive year.

DOCUMENTARY

  • Documentary is a HEAVY list, without the levity we’ve seen in prior years. There is no The Only Girl in the Orchestra-style charming profile doc, or the small stakes of my beloved Instruments of a Beating Heart. Instead, we have school shootings, war, fires, and other social and political issue films.
  • We don’t mind very serious docs, but we will be pulling for Perfectly a Strangeness, which is the most outside-the-box pick on the list. The Canadian short that played Cannes and TIFF is borderline fiction, and tells a quiet, unsensationalized story.
  • The usual outlets are well-represented in Doc—Netflix has All The Empty Rooms, HBO has Armed Only with a Camera, and The Devil is Busy, while The New Yorker’s shotgun approach to the Oscars once again hits the target with three films.
  • Also, in the midst of Trump’s war against public broadcasting, it’s lovely to see two films from POV, the longtime documentary program on PBS. Classroom 4 and Chasing Time are their films, and are free to watch for US residents.
  • Also of note, S/W alum Geeta Gandbhir’s quest to become the first filmmaker (to my knowledge) to sweep the two Documentary categories is alive, as The Devil is Busy and her feature, The Perfect Neighbor, are both shortlisted.

LIVE ACTION

  • The Live Action lineup is, once again, an interesting hodgepodge of interesting tones and approaches that defy easy interpretation.
  • The Academy has always been kinder to comedy in this category than many A-list festivals are, so films like Jane Austen’s Period Drama, and dramedies like A Friend of Dorothy or Pantyhose could have a shot.
  • Speaking of festivals, the lineup is light on true-blue festival darlings, with the Cannes laurel for Amarela and Rock Paper Scissors’ BAFTA win being the most prominent accolades I can spot. The Singers has cleaned up in the States, and will look to extend its European footprint in the new year at Clermont-Ferrand.
  • If I must note a trend, it is pleasant to see that the effect of the celebrity Executive Producer feels minor in the category. A go-to move for awards strategists in recent years, many of these films do have one, but most of the biggest celeb-first campaigns appear to have struck out.

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