For the past two decades, the Oscar Nominated Short Films have been made available on the big screen by SHORTS. Now in its 20th year, the program returned to theaters on February 14, 2025, showcasing all the nominees across the Live Action, Animated, and Documentary categories. This is the only chance to catch these in a cinema before the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025.
For tickets, visit www.shorts.tv/theoscarshorts.
The 2025 Oscar-nominated live-action short films are an eclectic bunch. However, there is a unifying theme. Each presents a protagonist at a critical juncture, forced to make a decision that will irrevocably shape their future. These works examine how a single moment—defiance, submission, sacrifice, or despair—can alter the course of a life. They’re ranked in preferential order, but I liked them all to some degree.
I’M NOT A ROBOT
NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM/22 MINS/2023
Director: Victoria Warmerdam
A music producer spirals into an existential crisis after repeatedly failing a CAPTCHA test. This leads her to question whether she might actually be a robot. As frustration sets in, it forces her to confront her own identity in an unexpected and unsettling way.
This taught me that CAPTCHA stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”. That alone makes it revelatory. However, I’m putting this at #1 because it’s the only nominee that relies purely on the strength of its storytelling rather than an activist message. However, the ending is a big letdown. Dutch writer-director Victoria Warmerdam plans to expand it into a feature. Here’s hoping they refine that ending to match the depth of Lara’s identity crisis.
ANUJA
INDIA, USA/22 MINS/2024
Director: Adam J. Graves
Gifted nine-year-old Anuja (Sajda Pathan) and her 14-year-old sister, Palak (Ananya Shanbhag), both work in a garment factory in New Delhi to make ends meet. Their lives take a pivotal turn when Anuja is offered a chance to attend a prestigious boarding school. The choice: continue working and make money for her family or seek an education. The difficulty in making this decision is presented in a compelling way here. ** spoiler alert ** Seeing lead actress Sadja Pathan screen the piece for the first time with her <ahem> classmates is a catharsis at the end.
THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT
CROATIA, BULGARIA, FRANCE, SLOVENIA/
13 MINS/2024
Director: Nebojša Slijepčević
A passenger train is stopped by armed paramilitary forces demanding identification. When teenager Milan (Silvio Mumelas), is targeted for removal, the passengers remain silent—except for one man, Tomo (Dragan Micanovic), who confronts the commander (Alexis Manenti).
The shift from Dragan (Goran Bogdan), who initially appears to be the protagonist, to Tomo Buzov, who takes a stand, is a clever development. The project is inspired by the Štrpci massacre that occurred on February 27, 1993, when the White Eagles unit abducted and killed 24 Muslim passengers from a train traveling through Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A LIEN
USA/14 MINS/2023
Directors: David Cutler-Kreutz, Sam Cutler-Kreutz
A New York family of three—Oscar (William Martinez), Sophia (Victoria Ratermanis), and their young daughter, Nina (Koralyn Rivera)—arrive for their scheduled green card interview. But when ICE agents enter the room, calling out names and detaining people, hope turns to fear. The title is a play on the word “Alien,” a term often used in legal contexts as a non-citizen, but also recalls the financial concept of a “lien”—a legal claim on someone’s property or assets that suggests that the family’s lives are being held hostage by the system.
The story unfolds rather predictably, but that doesn’t make its message any less urgent. This is a piece designed to highlight the human cost of immigration enforcement. It exploits tension and anxiety—for effect—rather than offering a deep exploration of the broader issue. Still, it’s effective in eliciting an emotional response. Given the Academy’s history of rewarding progressive social commentary in this category (The Long Goodbye, Two Distant Strangers, Skin), perhaps we should start engraving the Oscar now?
THE LAST RANGER
SOUTH AFRICA/28 MINS/2024
Director: Cindy Lee
Young Litha (Liyabona Mroqoza) admires the intricate wood carvings of local animals crafted by her father, Thabo (Makhaola Ndebele). Eager to see the wildlife up close, she joins Khuselwa (Avumile Qongqo), the last remaining game warden on South Africa’s Amakhala Game Reserve, to see a real white rhino. But their serene outing quickly turns sour when poachers launch a violent ambush. As the battle to protect the rhinos ensues, Litha faces imminent danger and a heartbreaking truth. Anti-poaching is a cause that transcends political ideologies, uniting almost everyone. Still, the messaging leans so heavily toward melodrama that the other campaigns in this category seem subtle.
02-25-25