by Mia Sciabica
Recently, I was able to watch all of the Oscar-nominated animation and live-action short films at my favorite historic theater, the Music Box. The Academy made great choices for the animated shorts, but I’d like to explore more deeply the films chosen for the live-action category as each choice was profound in its own way.
The back-to-back Oscar-nominated live-action screening started with The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (2024), directed by Nebojša Slijepčevic. This short follows a man traveling from Belgrade, Serbia to Bar, Montenegro where the train stops at a station they weren’t supposed to stop. They’re stuck in Štrpci, Bosnia and Herzegovina where they were stopped by the Serbian paramilitary forces. The officers were looking for Muslim passengers, of which they found 19 and later executed. Out of 500 passengers to witness this, only one stood up for them: Tomo Buzov. Tomo is a retired military officer on his way to visit his son when this occurs. This was a chilling story and unfortunately based on a real man and a real event. This was a profound story that left a lot of trust in the viewer to understand what was happening and I enjoyed that aspect of it.
The next film shown was Anuja (2024), directed by Adam J. Graves, another very relevant short film among these Oscar nominees because of the subject matter. The story follows a nine-year-old girl and her sister working in a sweatshop in Dehli, India. Anuja, the nine-year-old, is extremely smart. She’s visited by an old teacher she had before she dropped out of school to try and make money for her and her sister who appear to be orphaned. The teacher is fighting with the manager of the factory, saying it’s illegal for her to even be working, and the manager makes Anuja lie and say she’s fourteen (which she clearly isn’t). The teacher is there to convince Anuja to take an exam that would give her a scholarship to go to a boarding school. Overall, the story felt unresolved after its 23 minutes, so we don’t know if Anuja took the test or not. This was aggravating to me and many other viewers, and I feel like the ending could have been reworked.
The next short film has become one of my favorites: I’m Not a Robot (2023), directed by Victoria Warmerdam. This is a Dutch dark comedy that had me laughing out loud in the theater. It opens with a music producer, Lara, listening to a choir version of “Creep” by Radiohead. A CAPTCHA pops on Lara’s computer and she repeatedly fails it, which leads her to question whether or not she might actually be a robot. She’s pushed later to a questionnaire and starts panicking that her answers mean she’s a robot. She continues to spiral and the comedic timing of the lead actress, Ellen Parren, is perfect. This was a lighter break in between the darker material of the other shorts in the series.
The story A Lien (2023), directed by David Cutler-Kreutz and Sam Cutler-Kreutz, is a commentary on the current deportation of immigrants in the United States. This short follows a family going for the husband’s green card interview. Oscar Gomez has been living in the United States since he was a child, and his wife Sophia was born in the USA. ICE agents arrive at the facility and start deporting clients in the process of legally being allowed a green card, including Oscar. It’s a heartbreaking story and extremely relevant today with the border crisis in the United States.
Finally, the last short film up for nomination is The Last Ranger (2024), directed by Cindy Lee. This is a story about a young girl in South Africa named Litha and her adventure with a reserve ranger, Khuselwa. The area in which they live is also a protected reserve for rhinos, and both characters bond over their love for the animals. Since Khuselwa is a ranger, she has to protect the rhinos from poachers who hunt for their horns. While the two are together, poachers come and attack a rhino which changes the trajectory of Litha’s life due to her being so young during the incident. This is based on a true story and was eye-opening about the problem revolving around poaching endangered animals.
Overall, the Academy’s nominations for best live-action short film were phenomenal this year. My personal favorite was I’m Not a Robot because I’m a sucker for a darker comedy. However, I understand the content of the other films is much more relevant and important in our society at the moment. From immigration to endangered species, seeing films like these will open your eyes to the world around us. I can’t say what I predict to win this year because all of the choices are just that good!
