Knock on Wood

Let’s be honest, most of you don’t watch short films. I can’t even blame you. It’s not like these are marketed well or easy to find. Your local, small-town theaters certainly don’t show short films throughout the year. You can’t catch them on streamers unless it’s around awards season, and even then, you’re lucky if you can find just two or three of them. The only reliable way to get a hold of them is to see them at film festivals, but how many people can even do that? Your best bet is to try to find films on YouTube or Vimeo. It’s rough.

What I’m trying to say is – I get it. It’s not easy to watch short films, so why bother? But what I’m also trying to say is – you should bother, because short films are great.

They’re an outlet of expressive works of art that can be just as enchanting, provocative, moving, and entertaining as any feature film you could watch. When constructed well, the power that these films have to change your life in just a handful of minutes is something unlike any film experience you could have. I know that it may be easy to skip over the shorts, and when you fill out your ballots on Oscar night for your office betting pool to just pick out the shorts with the most interesting titles, but I’m here to tell you there’s a world of great art out there, if you only take the time to seek it out. So today, let’s take a moment to appreciate these underseen gems and review the 15 Oscar-nominated short films from 2025.

Animated Short

Butterfly

What begins as a warm, colorful, and uplifting film quickly disintegrates under the weight of oppression and subjugation to reveal heartbreaking realities. This is a hand-painted short that blends watercolor and oil painting to tell the painful true story of Alfred Nakache, a Jewish French swimmer and water poloist who swam at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. It accounts the tragic history of his life, including surviving the Holocaust and WWII. Gorgeously animated, painfully experienced, this is a short that will stick with you long after you’ve finished watching it. 4/5

Forevergreen

From the animation to the colors, the sound effects to the music, and the ever-so-charming story, this is adorable from top to bottom. A Pixar-esque story about a young bear trying to find his way in the world, as guided by a wise old tree. The struggle of trying to get your kid to eat healthy food and not junk food is real, and uncomfortably relatable. Honestly, this is kind of the bear version of The Giving Tree, and I’m here for it. 3.5/5

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

A dour fable about the corrosive dehumanization that comes from profiting off the pain and sorrow of others, this short tells the story of an old man recounting his younger years and what he did to make his wealth; however, he is an unreliable narrator, and traditional fairy tale tropes keep you guessing and engaged in this harrowing story. With gorgeous stop-motion animation, amazing voice acting, and smart pacing, this is a moving tale to anyone with a soul. You know, not billionaires. 4/5

Retirement Plan

A film meant for the nihilistic existential dread festering inside of us all, this short reminds us what life is for: experiences. While this short comes dangerously close to being a parody of itself in real time as it relentlessly slings Hallmark card-style inspirational quotes at you, underneath your cynicism, it’s hard not to be touched by this short that just begs you to go and appreciate life and what it has to offer. Go read a book, learn a new language, go on a hike, and touch grass. Do what makes you happy, that’s what matters most. 3/5

The Three Sisters

A very simple and modest film laced with a lot of light humor, this short tells the story of three sisters who live alone on an island. But when their financial situation becomes unsustainable, they choose to rent out one of the houses on their island to a local sailor. Naturally, animated shenanigans ensue as all three women instantly covet the sailor, all competing for his attention. But, while there’s fun to be had here, this is not very impactful or memorable. 3/5

Documentary Short

All the Empty Rooms

In the US, we have a mass shooting problem, a school shooting problem, and a gun problem. Scared politicians don’t want to do anything about it, and our kids die for their cowardice. This short tackles this issue by forcing the viewer to sit in the uncomfortable quiet and stillness of a child no more. Existing where they once lived, but where their spirit now lingers. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were part of the original declaration for our country, and we’ve sacrificed this right to life in favor of the right to guns. This doc says that anyone who feels guns are more important than kids should go to these houses, look at these rooms, and tell these parents and families, to their faces, why their gun is more important than the life of a child. 4.5/5

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

An inescapable lack of structure and focus undercuts what should be a powerful documentary about a very brave man. Brent Renaud dedicated his life to traveling to dangerous parts of the world to document ongoing crimes against humanity, and he deserves a film that matches his sacrifice. However, in an effort to be more artistic, this film undercuts its delivered message. If this was in chronological order, where we learned more about Brent’s impact on all these world events, growing in admiration and attachment to him over time, and then, let’s say they got rid of that awful subtitle, we see that Brent was murdered in the end, shocking us to our core, ending with the statement on the high death rate of journalists, that would’ve been something truly powerful. Still worth seeing, but I lament what could’ve, should’ve, been. 3/5

Children No More: Were and Are Gone

The conflict between Israel and Palestine continues to grow and claim more and more lives in the wake of extreme hatred. This film captures a silent protest movement from within Israel as a minority of Israelis try to point out the murder and devastation that the state of Israel is inflicting upon Palestine, its people, and, specifically, its children. While this does a great job at having you ‘attend’ these silent vigils, forcing you to sit in silence and stare into the innocent faces lost to genocide, as a documentary, this is fairly shallow, one-note, and repetitive. There’s just not enough here, here. There’s great intent, but this doesn’t capture the essence of these protestors’ message, making this experience, while well-intentioned, fall a bit flat. 3/5

The Devil Is Busy

A blunt, honest, and no-frills look at a day in the life on the frontlines of women’s healthcare and bodily autonomy. This covers one day at one of the few remaining women’s health clinics in Atlanta, Georgia, and the difficulties in keeping this facility safe and secure. It tackles abortion with a deft and nuanced hand, while showing the hypocrisy in the oppression that women face in making one of the toughest choices in their lives. Straightforward, beautiful, and important. 4/5

Perfectly a Strangeness

What an apt and fitting title, ’cause this is strange. This is 15 minutes of watching three donkeys walk around an abandoned observatory, accompanied by nothing else whatsoever. On the one hand, there is an odd, raw charm to this. On the other hand, this feels contrived and staged. It’s not like these donkeys just arrived here and you candidly caught their actions on film. No, you brought them here with the intent of filming their actions and reactions. A cute idea that’s very aimless and silly in execution. 2.5/5

Live Action Short

Butcher’s Stain

This follows a Palestinian man who works as a butcher at an Israeli grocery store. Tension is rampant, and a false accusation breeds contempt as bigotry and bias cloud people’s judgement leading to overt confrontation. This gets really close to capitalizing on its premise and pointing out prejudice and mistreatment. However, some narrative choices, particularly in its focus on a child out of nowhere to end the film when that wasn’t developed well earlier, and dialogue, specifically when our titular butcher learns the truth of a matter and decides not to defend himself to his superiors, when a natural human reaction is to say something, hold it back from reaching its potential. Worth watching, but this doesn’t deliver the satisfying conclusion that it feels like it deserves. 3/5

A Friend of Dorothy

A young man, JJ, kicks a football (soccer, not pigskin) into the garden (backyard, it’s England, stay with me here) of an elderly woman, Dorothy. In asking to retrieve the ball, a friendship is struck, leading to an appreciation of literature, friendship, and of self. Though this borders a bit too much on being an overt, sugary, Hallmark card (even more so than the animated short “Retirement Plan”), almost robbing itself of its potential sentimentality, in the end, its sweetness wins out, and the final conversation between Dorothy and JJ earns its emotional punch. A delightful, if simple, film. 3.5/5

Jane Austen’s Period Drama

A true joy, honestly. This is a pitch-perfect satire of Jane Austen, from the time period and clothing all the way to character archetypes, that also delivers some solid humor and observation around women’s menstrual cycles and how uncomfortable we are in discussing such matters in our society. It’s revealing, informative, and hilarious. Frankly, they should show this in sex education classes at schools. It’d be infinitely more educational and entertaining than whatever else they could be showing. Be sure to stay around for the fun mid-credits scene too! 4/5

The Singers

A simple short that shows a bunch of men, from all walks of life, drinking away their pains in a bar while singing their guts out. That’s it, that’s the film, and it’s terrific. There’s something so foreign about these blue-collar men being vulnerable, exposing their talents and emotions to cynicism. And yet, it’s that same quality that makes this so warm and endearing. I could’ve gone for another 30 minutes of random dudes, worn down by time and life, pouring their souls out in song at a random dive bar, all for the promise of $100 and a beer. 4/5

Two People Exchanging Saliva

A beautiful, oddly erotic, and challenging film about a dystopian world where kissing is illegal. Such a quirky premise, but it’s all executed so well that, by the end, I was very moved. Because, as depressing and absurd as this is in its dystopian sensibilities, it’s just as beautiful and romantic as it is in its forbidden love. Powerful performances and genuine chemistry keep you hooked as this tragedy plays out, and you inevitably draw comparisons to the state of our real world today. A magnetic watch. 4/5

And there we have it! A complete look at all 15 short films nominated at this year’s Academy Awards. While there might be a couple that feel undercooked, by and large, this was a great slate of short films. Humorous, moving, joyful, depressing, and powerful in many ways. Again, I know it’s commonplace to skip over the short films, to not worry about overlooking them. But I implore you, watch these films. There’s some great work being done here. Don’t be judgmental. Take the time to learn to love the short film!