2026 Oscar-Nominated Shorts

See the year’s most spectacular short films on the big screen for a limited time. Showcasing the best short films from around the world, the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Shorts presents feature-length programs dedicated to each Academy Award Short Film category: Animated, Documentary and Live Action. 

Animated shorts!

Not Rated, but some films in this program include disturbing and mature content and may not be suitable for children under 13. 83 minutes.

Butterfly (France)
Directed by Florence Miailhe.
A poignant retelling of Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache’s life, from his rise to fame to surviving Auschwitz, presented as memories flashing back during his final swim. In French, Arabic, and German with English subtitles. 15 minutes. 

Éiru (Ireland) 
Note: While not nominated, Éiru was Shortlisted and merits a special mention.   
Directed by Giovanna Ferrari.
When the water mysteriously disappears from the well in a warrior clan’s village, an intrepid child descends into the belly of the earth to retrieve it. Éiru is the story of a child in search of a challenge, and a goddess in search of a champion. 13 minutes.

Forevergreen (U.S.)
Directed by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears. 
A joyful adventure featuring an orphaned bear cub and a fatherly tree turns deadly serious when the cub is tempted by the allure of easy food. 13 minutes. 

The Girl Who Cried Pearls (Canada)
Directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski.
A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds. In English and French with English subtitles, 17 minutes. 

Retirement Plan (Ireland)
Directed by John Kelly.
A man fantasizes about everything he’d love to do in retirement, once he finally has the “time.”  7 minutes. 

The Three Sisters (Israel/Cyprus)
Directed by Konstantin Bronzit 
Three sisters live on an isolated island, each in their own small house, until circumstances force them to rent out one of the houses. 14 minutes. 

Documentary shorts!

Not Rated, but the Producers recommend this program be treated as if Rated R. 158 minutes.

All the Empty Rooms (U.S.)
Directed by Joshua Seftel.
In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings. 33 minutes.

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud (U.S.)
Directed by Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo
An intimate chronicle about documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud, the first American journalist killed while reporting on the Russo-Ukrainian War. In English, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, and Somali with English subtitles. 38 minutes.

Children No More: “Were and are Gone” (Israel)
Directed by Hilla Medalia.
In Tel Aviv, activists gather weekly to demonstrate their opposition to the war in Gaza with a silent vigil for the children killed in Israeli attacks. In Hebrew with English subtitles. 36 minutes.

The Devil is Busy (U.S.)
Directed by Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir
This film chronicles a day on the frontlines in the battle for reproductive rights at a women’s healthcare clinic. Besieged by protesters, the director of security takes necessary risks to safeguard staff and patients. 31 minutes. 

Perfectly a Strangeness (Canada/Chile)
Directed by Alison McAlpine
In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be. 15 minutes.

Live action shorts!

Not Rated, but some films in this program contain adult language, adult themes and sensual images. Recommended for persons 17 and up. 120 minutes.

Butcher’s Stain (Israel)
Directed by Meyer Levinson-Blount.
Samir, an Arab Israeli working in a supermarket in Tel Aviv, is accused of tearing down hostage posters in the break room. He sets out to prove his innocence to keep this job that he desperately needs. In Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles. 26 minutes. 

A Friend of Dorothy (U.K.)
Directed by Lee Knight.
A lonely widow’s quiet life is upended when a teenage boy accidentally kicks his football into her garden. 21 minutes. 

Jane Austen’s Period Drama (U.S.)
Directed by Julia Aks and Steve Pinder 
England. 1813, in the middle of a long-awaited marriage proposal, Miss Estrogenia Talbot gets her period. Her suitor, Mr. Dickley, mistakes the blood for an injury, as it quickly becomes clear that his expensive education missed a spot. 12 minutes. 

The Singers (U.S.)
Directed by Sam A. Davis.
A pub full of downtrodden patrons connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off. With a cast comprised of viral video singing talents and other one-of-a-kind personalities from the unlikeliest corners of the internet, the film is an experimental docu-musical hybrid crafted like an improvisational play. 18 minutes. 

Two People Exchanging Saliva (France/U.S.)
Directed by Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh.
In a society where kissing is punishable by death and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face, Angeline, an unhappy woman, shops compulsively in a department store where she becomes fascinated by a playful salesgirl. Despite the prohibition of kissing, the two become close, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague. In French with English subtitles, 36 minutes.

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