5 Oscar-Nominated Short Films You Should Watch

Each year, the Oscar-nominated short films are breathtaking. Here is a selection of 5 of them that everyone should watch.

• Sister – Siqi Song, China/USA.

A man thinks back to his childhood memories of growing up with an annoying little sister in China in the 1990s. What would his life have been like if her sister had existed? An emotional animation short about the one-child policy in China.

• Mémorable – Bruno Collet, France

Louis is experiencing strange events. His world seems to be mutating. Slowly, furniture, objects and people lose their realism. A poetic animation short about Alzheimer’s.

• Nefta Football Club – Yves Piat, Tunisia/France

Two young brothers come across a donkey in the desert. Strangely, the animal is wearing headphones over its ears. It turns out it’s transporting drugs. A cute and funny short film about childhood innocence.

• Saria – Bryan Buckley, USA

Saria and Ximena, two orphaned sisters, fight against daily abuse and unimaginable hardship at Virgen de la asuncion Safe home in Guatemala. The story follows the events leading up to the tragic fire in 2017 that claimed the lives of 41 orphaned girls. Probably the most intense short-movie of the 2020 selection. Not to be watched with children.

• Brotherhood – Meryan Joobeur, Tunisia.

Mohamed is a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia with his wife and two sons. Mohamed is deeply shaken when his oldest son Malik returns home after spending a long time in Syria. Tension between father and son rises. Mohamed doesn’t know if he has to turn in his own son to the authority, in order to protect his other sons from Malik. A heartbreaking short film anchored in current events.