2026 Oscar Nominated Short Films(2026)

- Short

Release Date: Feb 20, 2026 | Limited

A curated showcase of the year’s most acclaimed short films — across animated, live-action and documentary categories — brings together the official Oscar-nominated shorts contending for Academy Awards at the 98th Oscars. With stories ranging from poetic animation to intimate human dramas and probing real-world documentaries, the collection highlights inventive filmmaking and powerful storytelling in concentrated form.

Releases

Original Release | Feb 20, 2026 | Opens in 07days

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Director & Top Cast

Taika Waititi
Self - Host

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Summaries

Plot Summary

2026 Oscar Nominated Short Films refers to the official set of short films nominated for the Academy Awards at the 98th Oscars, scheduled for March 15, 2026. These films represent the top five nominees in each of the three short-film categories: Best Animated Short Film, Best Live Action Short Film, and Best Documentary Short Film. In the Best Animated Short category, the nominees are Papillon (Butterfly) by Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens, Forevergreen by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles (The Girl Who Cried Pearls) by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, Retirement Plan by John Kelly and Andrew Freedman, and The Three Sisters by Timur Kognov. In Best Live Action Short, the nominated films include Butcher’s Stain, A Friend of Dorothy, Jane Austen’s Period Drama, The Singers, and Two People Exchanging Saliva — each offering distinct takes on human connection, satire, memory, or identity through concise storytelling. In the Best Documentary Short category, the nominees are All the Empty Rooms, Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”, The Devil Is Busy, and Perfectly a Strangeness, which explore themes ranging from grief and remembrance to the craft and risks of documentary filmmaking. This grouping of shorts highlights a breadth of global talent and cinematic approaches, illustrating both artistic innovation and emotional resonance in concise formats. The 2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films are for audiences who seek powerful storytelling and creative filmmaking distilled into brief, compelling works.

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Fun Facts

2026 Oscar Nominated Short Films compile the five finalists in each Academy Awards short category—Live Action, Animated, and Documentary—for theatrical programs screening before the March 8 ceremony.

Standouts include Papillon (Butterfly) (Florence Miailhe), Forevergreen (Nathan Engelhardt & Jeremy Spears; orphaned bear cub bonds with a tree), La jeune fille qui pleurait des perles (The Girl Who Cried Pearls) (Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski), Retirement Plan (John Kelly), and The Three Sisters (Timur Kognov). Stop-motion entries like The Girl Who Cried Pearls vie to end a long drought since 2007.