Article by Marcus Siu

Love is in the air, not just because it’s Valentine’s Day, but because movie lovers will get to see the 2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films on the very same day at movie theaters. Three categories: Live Action, Animation, and Documentary; fifteen titles in all – but for a very limited time only.

https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/tickets

It’s time for avid moviegoers and addicted gamblers alike to get a head-start on predicting the most winners for the upcoming 97th Annual Academy Awards on March 2nd. If you are serious about winning your Oscar pool, it’s highly recommended to see each of these movies so you can get a slight edge over your competitors.

Most casual Oscar viewers would not be familiar with any of the nominees in these three “minor” categories. If it was announced that the awards were going to be given out to these three categories right after the commercial break during the ceremony, the vast majority of viewers will run off to the bar for another libation or run to the lavoratory to straighten out their blouse or bowtie and to just make sure there isn’t any caviar stuck between their teeth.

In other words, they don’t want to waste their precious time.

But for the real movie buffs and filmmakers, recognition should also be acknowledged to the smaller independent and global filmmakers within the industry. These three categories are arguably just as important as any of the other categories, even when comparing it to the multimillion dollar studio movies that get all the usual pomp and circumstance.

For those who prefer to stream and watch at home, you can actually watch a handful of these titles on YouTube. You can easily Google some of the Live Action and Documentary shorts, and watch them in its entirety. Others are either streaming on premium platforms, or are available through pay per view for a nominal fee.

For example, “A Lien” can be streamed on Vimeo for free. If you go to YouTube, The New Yorker is streaming “I’m Not a Robot” and “Incident”, and The New York Times is streaming “Instruments of a Beating Heart”. Subscribers of Netflix can watch “Anuja” and “The Only Girl in the Orchestra, and “Wander to Wonder” can be streamed on Vimeo for $3.99 for a two day rental period.

However, the theatrical release of these nominated short films is the way to go. I would strongly urge you to see these in the theaters.

Movies are meant for the big screen, even if they are shorts.

TRAILER

LIVE ACTION

A LIEN

USA/15 MINS/2023

Director: David Cutler-Kreutz, Sam Cutler-Kreutz

Synopsis

A young couple face up to and deal with a dangerous immigration process.

ANUJA

INDIA, USA/22 MINS/2024

Director: Adam J. Graves

Synopsis

ANUJA tells the story of a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide.

I’M NOT A ROBOT

BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS/22 MINS/2023

Director: Victoria Warmerdam

Synopsis

After repeatedly failing Captcha tests, music producer Lara spirals into obsession, haunted by the disturbing question of whether she might actually be a robot.

THE LAST RANGER

SOUTH AFRICA/28 MINS/2024

Director: Cindy Lee

Synopsis

When young Litha is introduced to the magic of a game reserve by the last remaining ranger, they are ambushed by poachers. In the ensuing battle to save the rhinos, Litha discovers a terrible secret.

THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT

CROATIA/13 MINS/2024

Director: Nebojsa Slijepcevic

Synopsis

1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces in an ethnic cleansing operation. As they haul off innocent civilians, only one man out of 500 passengers dares to stand up to them.

ANIMATION

BEAUTIFUL MEN

BELGIUM, FRANCE, NETHERLANDS/18 MINS/2023

Director: Nicolas Keppens

Synopsis

Three balding brothers travel to Istanbul to get a hair transplant. Stuck with each other in a hotel far from home, their insecurities grow faster than their hair.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS

IRAN/20 MINS/2023

Director: Hossein Molayemi, Shirin Sohani

Synopsis

Living in a house by the sea with his daughter, a former captain who has post-traumatic stress disorder leads a tough and secluded life.

MAGIC CANDIES

JAPAN/21 MINS/2024

Director: Daisuke Nishio

Synopsis

The other kids at the park never ask Dong-Dong to play. But he’s fine just playing marbles on his own. One day he goes out in search of new marbles, but ends up buying a bag of colorful, marble-shaped candies instead. But the first time he pops one of them into his mouth, he’s astonished to hear his old sofa start talking to him! For the next few minutes, until the candy melts away, he has the most unexpected and amazing conversation of his life. Realizing that these are no ordinary candies, Dong- Dong looks at the rest of colorful sweets. Who else will he be able to talk to, and what else will he learn, through these magic candies?

WANDER TO WONDER

NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, FRANCE, UK/13 MINS/2023

Director: Nina Gantz

Synopsis

Mary, Billybud, and Fumbleton are three tiny humans who star in a kids’ TV Series called “Wander to Wonder”. After the creator dies, they are left alone in the studio. Struggling to find enough to eat, they continue to make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.

YUCK!

FRANCE/13 MINS/2024

Director: Loïc Espuche

Synopsis

Yuck! Adults kiss each other on the mouth, and children find it disgusting! What’s more, you can see it from afar: when people are about to kiss, their lips become all pink and shiny. Little Léo makes jokes about it, as do the other kids at the summer camp. But he has a secret he won’t tell his friends: his own mouth has actually begun glistening. And, in reality, Léo desperately wants to give kissing a try.

DOCUMENTARY

DEATH BY NUMBERS

USA/33 MINS/2024

Director: Kim A. Snyder

Synopsis

Four years after being shot with an AR-15 in her high school, Samantha Fuentes reckons with existential questions of hatred and justice as she prepares to confront her shooter.

I AM READY, WARDEN

USA/37 MINS/2024

Director: Smriti Mundhra

Synopsis

John Henry Ramirez is convicted of murder and sentenced to death in the state of Texas. During his incarceration, Ramirez tries to reach out to his victim’s son while also preparing to say goodbye to his family.

INCIDENT

USA/30 MINS/2023

Director: Bill Morrison

Synopsis

Through a montage of surveillance and police body-camera footage, a reconstruction of a deadly shooting by a Chicago police officer becomes an investigation into how a narratve begins to take shape in the aftermath.

INSTRUMENTS OF A BEATING HEART

JAPAN/23 MINS/2024

Director: Ema Ryan Yamazaki

Synopsis

A New York Times Op-Docs, first graders in a Tokyo public elementary school are presented with a challenge for the final semester: to form an orchestra and perform “Ode to Joy” at a school ceremony.

THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA

USA/35 MINS/2023

Director: Molly O’Brien

Synopsis

Trailblazing double bassist Orin O’Brien was never one to seek the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic, she inevitably became the focus of media attention and, ultimately, one of the most renowned musicians of a generation.