How To Watch The 2021 Oscars Best Short Film Nominees

Author Laila Abuelhawa

April 20th, 2021 11:04 AM

You know all of those “short” film categories that get awards during the Oscars? If you don’t, you’re not alone. And that’s a shame, because you’re missing out on some great films. But this year, you can catch up on all of the short film nominees, either in a local theater, or virtually from your own home. ShortsTV, a network dedicated to short films, is hosting a virtual cinema festival featuring the Oscar-Nominated Short Films in all three categories

The short films are hosted by local theaters (find them here). But even if you don’t live near a theater that’s hosting the festival , you can click on any theater’s “virtual cinema” that you wish to support, and purchase your tickets to watch that way. You can find the “virtual” theaters the exact same way you search for physical theaters in the ticketing site: https://tickets.oscar-shorts.com/tickets/. Click on the theater that you want to support, click on their “virtual theater,” you might have to scroll past other offerings, and then you’ll find the virtual cinema for each of the short-film categories: live-action, animation and documentary. You’ll thank us later. Watch a trailer below, and check out our gallery with descriptions of all of the short film nominees.

The Academy Awards air on ABC on April 25 at 8 pm ET.

RELATED: How To Watch The Oscar Nominees For Best Picture

2021 Oscars Best Short Film Nominees

.

• Feeling Through (USA/19 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Live-Action Short Film The first film to feature a DeafBlind actor in a lead role, is a coming-of-age story that follows Tereek, a teen wandering the streets of New York, desperate for a place to crash when he encounters Artie, a DeafBlind man in need of assistance getting to a bus stop. Out of an awkward meeting between strangers emerges an intimate bond, and a journey that forever changes Tereek.

• The Letter Room (USA/33 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Live-Action Short Film When an empathetic corrections officer gets transferred to the prison’s letter room, he soon finds escape in the deeply personal letters written to an inmate on death row.

• The Present (Palestine/25 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Live-Action Short Film On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his young daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping?
• Two Distant Strangers (USA/29 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Live-Action Short Film In Two Distant Strangers, cartoonist Carter James’ repeated attempts to get home to his dog are thwarted by a recurring deadly encounter that forces him to re-live the same awful day over and over again.

• White Eye (Israel/20 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Live-Action Short Film A man finds his stolen bicycle, which now belongs to a stranger. While attempting to retrieve it, he struggles to remain human.

• Colette (USA/25 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Documentary Short Subject 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine is one of the last surviving members of the French Resistance. As a young girl, she belonged to a family of Resistance fighters that included her 17-year-old brother Jean-Pierre. The last time Colette saw Jean-Pierre was in 1943, when he was arrested by the Gestapo and “disappeared” into the Nazi concentration camp system, never to be seen by his family again. For the past 74-years, Colette has never allowed herself to put one foot in Germany. But that’s all about to change when a young history student named Lucie enters her life. Lucie is researching the camp in Germany where Jean-Pierre died. Tracing the story of Jean-Pierre is her special assignment. The film follows Colette as she travels with Lucie to what remains of the forced labor camp near Nordhausen, Germany.
• A Concerto Is A Conversation (USA/13 mins

  Share

  Nominated for: Documentary Short Subject A Concerto Is A Conversation tells the story of virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer Kris Bowers as he tracks his family’s lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Kris Bowers is one of Hollywood’s rising young composers. At 29, he scored the Oscar-winning film GREEN BOOK (2018). Bowers also scored limited series When They See Us. Despite his successes, he says that as a Black composer, “I’ve been wondering whether or not I’m supposed to be in the spaces that I’m in.” In A Concerto Is A Conversation, Bowers traces the process of breaking into new spaces through generations of sacrifice that came before him, focusing on the story of his grandfather Horace Bowers. As a young man, he left his home in the Jim Crow South, eventually ending up in Los Angeles. Encountering discrimination at every turn, he and his wife, Alice, nevertheless made a life as business owners.

• Do Not Split (USA/Norway/35 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Documentary Short Subject Told from within the heart of the Hong Kong protests, Do Not Split begins in 2019 as a proposed bill allowing the Chinese government to extradite criminal suspects to mainland China escalated protests throughout Hong Kong. Unfolding across a year, Do Not Split captures the determination and sacrifices of the protesters, the government’s backlash, and the passage of the new Beijing-backed national security law.

• Hunger Ward (USA/40 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Documentary Short Subject Filmed inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in conflict-ridden Yemen, Hunger Ward documents two women fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the backdrop of a forgotten war. The film provides unflinching portraits of Dr. Aida Alsadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they work to save the lives of hunger-stricken children within a population on the brink of famine.
• A Love Song For Latasha (USA/19 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Documentary Short Subject The injustice surrounding the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at a South Central Los Angeles store became a flashpoint for the city’s 1992 civil uprising. As the Black community expressed its profound pain in the streets, Latasha’s friends and family privately mourned the loss of a vibrant child whose full story was never in the headlines. Nearly three decades later, A Love Song For Latasha removes Latasha from the context of her death and rebuilds an archive of a promising life lost. Oral history and memories from Latasha’s best friend and cousin converge in a dreamlike portrait that shows the impact one brief but brilliant life can have.

• Burrow (USA/6 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Animated Short Film In Disney and Pixar’s Burrow, a young rabbit embarks on a journey to dig the burrow of her dreams, despite not having a clue what she’s doing. Rather than reveal to her neighbors her imperfections, she digs herself deeper and deeper into trouble. After hitting (bed) rock bottom, she learns there is no shame in asking for help.

• Genius Loci (France/16 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Animated Short Film One night, Reine, a young loner, sees among the urban chaos a moving oneness that seems alive, like some sort of guide.
• If Anything Happens I Love You (USA/13 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Animated Short Film Grieving parents struggle with the loss of their daughter after a school shooting. An elegy on grief.

• Opera (South Korea/USA/9 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Animated Short Film Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker and former Pixar animator Erick Oh, Opera is driven by the spirits of Bosch, Michelangelo, Botticelli and more. Opera is an invitation to question the mechanisms of our society and human behavior. The full cycle of Opera consists of day and night, with each section and individual character’s activities intrinsically connected so the viewers can eventually enjoy the entire pyramid no matter which character they set their eyes on first.

• Yes People (Iceland/9 mins)

  Share

  Nominated for: Animated Short Film One morning an eclectic mix of people face the everyday battle, such as work, school and dish-washing. As the day progresses, their relationships are tested and ultimately their capacity to cope.

Get The QYK Country Connections Newsletter

Enjoy the latest Country music & entertainment news, Tampa/St. Pete happenings, plus exclusive contests, games, and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.

Author Laila Abuelhawa

Category:

• Movies
• QYK Headlines
• Uncategorized

Tags:

2021 Oscars,Oscars