I present a truncated version of my usual in-depth category breakdowns. Here are the three shorts categories:
Documentary Short
Nominees
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Incident is one of the most devastating, powerful, and infuriating short films in recent memory. It shows every possible angle of a police shooting while offering a rarely seen insight into the minds of the officers who perpetrate these crimes in real time. It’s a scathing indictment of our justice system and proof of what most of us knew or suspected. The question now: What are we prepared to do about it?
If Incident is a little too formally radical, with its lack of voiceover, talking-head interviews, or traditional structure, two other films in the lineup tackle similarly pressing issues with a more conventional style. I Am Ready, Warden tells the dual narrative of a convict on death row and the son of the man he murdered as both await the convict’s execution. It’s gripping viewing and visceral evidence of the fact that there are no winners in capital punishment.
Death by Numbers comes at capital punishment from a different angle: the point of view of a school shooting survivor testifying at the sentencing hearing for the murderer. This is an interesting pairing with I Am Ready, Warden, given this film’s framing around a hoped-for death sentence. I found much of Death by Numbers a little shallow and lacking in perspective, which is disappointing for a film about one of our nation’s most devastating crises.
Instruments of a Beating Heart and The Only Girl in the Orchestra are two very different musical documentaries, both quietly delightful in their own ways. It should not go unmentioned that another musical doc short won this category last year – The Last Repair Shop – but neither of these has that film’s artistry or thematic depth.
For the win, Incident may be just too darn experimental for these voters, and since they can give the award to something more easily digestible and still feel like they’re standing up for a cause, expect that to be the case. While a Death by Numbers win would not be shocking, I Am Ready, Warden packs the greater punch, so that’s the pick.
Will win: I Am Ready, Warden
Should win: Incident
Animated Short
Nominees
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
I found myself a little underwhelmed by the Animated Short selections this year. In past years, this category has been loaded with bold, brilliant visions that push the boundaries of both animation and storytelling. Recent films like last year’s An Ostrich Told Me the World Was Fake and I Think I Believe It, 2020’s Opera, and 2014’s The Dam Keeper showcase the best of what these shorts can do. This year, only one of these five lived up to that standard.
Wander to Wonder is the front-runner almost by default. It won the Annie and the BAFTA in this category. It’s a beautifully rendered stop-motion piece that tells a story of breaking free from the strictures of the lives we believe we must lead. The animation is key to the execution. It’s funny, surprising, and ultimately inspiring. Would that there were four more of these in the lineup.
Beautiful Men, about three bald brothers at a hair-restoration clinic, comes the closest but ultimately is a little too slight. Yuck! and Magic Candies are both sweet stories of children learning about the world around them. And, if I’m being honest, I found In the Shadow of the Cypress a little impenetrable. It looks good, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Will win: Wander to Wonder
Should win: Wander to Wonder
Live-Action Short
Nominees
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
This is an excellent slate of nominees, and even the least among them is an endearingly strange ride with more to say than it perhaps first appears. Let’s just do a brief survey of the topics covered by these five shorts: the extra-legal deportation of immigrants from this country; the limited options afforded to children trapped in India’s class structure; our AI future and its moral and ethical implications; rhino poaching in South Africa; and a true story of heroism amid an ethnic cleansing in ‘90s Croatia.
I would say A Lien has the inside track to the win here, given its urgent relevance to the current political situation in this country. It operates like a ticking-clock thriller as a family fights to avoid a trap set by ICE in which the agency explicitly promises a chance at a green card while hoping to lure and round up the most vulnerable among us. A title card at the end of the film tells us this is a true practice used by ICE. This is hardly surprising but no less infuriating.
The Last Ranger is a gorgeously photographed ode to the people who put their lives at risk in South Africa to prevent animal poachers from carrying out their awful work. I thought this was an excellent film – well written, well acted, and wonderfully constructed.
Another tribute to a fallen hero, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent tells the story of Tomo Buzov, who stood up to call out the injustice of a massacre and was himself brutally killed as a result. The filmmaking is brilliant in the way it puts you on the train with Buzov, not in his shoes but rather those of an observer, challenging you to consider whether you would stand up for what’s right under these circumstances. Tragically, Buzov’s son died just yesterday.
Anuja is a sweet story about a pre-teen girl working in a sweatshop in India who has an opportunity to take a scholarship at a boarding school but doesn’t want to leave her sister. It’s a nice little movie, but it lacks an ending. From a voting standpoint, the big thing in its favor is producer Mindy Kaling. It never hurts to have a big Hollywood celeb on your side in the shorts categories.
Finally, I’m Not a Robot takes a fascinating and comically absurd premise and stretches it out to its darkly logical conclusion. I won’t spoil any of the film’s surprises here, but suffice it to say, it presents a reality that feels just a step or two away from where we find ourselves now.
Will win: A Lien
Should win: A Lien
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