It’s about that time again. The 98th Academy Awards are scheduled on March 15, which probably feels like there is not enough time to watch all the nominated films, but God Hamnet we’ll try. It might be prudent to get cracking on this year’s nominations for the short film categories, which include animated, live action, and documentary. Over the coming weeks, the Coolidge Corner Theatre will be playing the nominated short films in their designated categories and Taika Waititi’s name plastered over for some reason. Watching movies is fun, but betting on winners during awards season is another kind of manic pleasure that usually ends in disappointment farther deeper than the organization’s decision to hold only two performances from the Best Original Song nominations (fools for excluding “Clothed from the Sun!”). Know-it-alls who bet on literally all the wrong documentary noms (like yours truly) can re-experience the immersive experience of getting wrecked again. Let’s get on it and argue!
INTRODUCTION
Some dedicated fans may have realized that guessing what will slide into the nomination categories can be a crapshoot in certain areas. Predicting at least 8 out of the 10 BP nominations or what will most likely triumph for Best Original Song is light work, but who can say the same about the short film categories? Even more so, what goes into watching these films and knowing who will come out on top? The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar‘s win at the 96th ceremony was a recent formulaic fit, and only part of it has to do it with just being a good film. Even though I’ve been writing about them for a few years, my predictions are based on trends, vibes, and avoiding everyone else’s opinions. Welcome to the thought bubble.
However, this might be the first time in this category that feels like each candidate does have an equal chance at winning. Not for the same production level, or same enjoyment, but because each offer an experience that the others do not. The question, then, boils down to “What will this year’s voters vibe with?” Let’s take a look at this year’s nominations for Best Live Action Short Film.
CONTENDERS (LISTED IN PROGRAMMING SEQUENCE)
- THE SINGERS (dir. Sam A. Davis | United States, 18 mins | trailer) – Based on a Russian short story, patrons at a bar connect through unexpected means.
- A FRIEND OF DOROTHY (dir. Lee Knight | United Kingdom, 21 mins | trailer) – Teenager JJ and friendly neighbor Dorothy bond over their love of drama.
- BUTCHER’S STAIN (dir. Meyer Levinson-Blount | Israel, 26 mins | trailer) – Samir, an Arab Israeli, is accused of vandalizing the posters of Israeli hostages at his workplace.
- TWO PEOPLE EXCHANGING SALIVA (dir. Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh | France/US, 36 mins | full video) – Despite the danger of their blooming relationship in this French dystopian world, Angine and Malaise grow attracted to each other.
- JANE AUSTEN’S PERIOD DRAMA (dir. Steve Pinder and Julia Aks | United States, 12 mins | full video) – Marriage is afoot for Miss Estrogenia and Mr. James Dickley, but alas, there is one surprise that Mr. James Dickley may not know about the female body.
THOUGHTS
I wonder if there is a quorum in this category to include sad singing at the bars, as The Singers meets this year’s criteria (granted, the last nomination to have the same idea was 2023’s On My Mind). But the public loves it, and the Oscars aim to please the public. I will admit to appreciating this one more than the others with a similar premise, which may be due to my years living in South Boston and inadvertently mixing in with the older Irish crowd. It might sound confrontational for male bonding to flourish by performing soul-bearing ballads, but as I learned while writing this in a coffee shop on Neponset Ave where there is a revolving door of laborers that sit around and drink coffee, people often cannot sit comfortably in conversation lulls.
As sweet as The Singers is between the clinks of pint glasses and sticky bar stools, A Friend of Dorothy probably can’t be beat in the saccharine department. Initially, I thought the idea of unlikely friendships was overdone, but in reviewing my coverage over the last few years, it’s more likely that we see characters running away from law enforcement than we do see two characters sit down for a cup of tea. Miriam Margolyes and Stephen Fry take a lunch break from their busy lives to perform in this film about the relationship between Margolyes’ character Dorothy and teenager JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu), who both have a love for stage drama (Fry plays Dorothy’s estate representative). Making friends or reading passages in front of people: couldn’t be me, but happy for them.
If comedy is a multi-headed beast telling different jokes, this category makes it clear that we may have different tastes but can stick around for all the punchlines appreciatively. The premise of Butcher’s Stain, for example, is pretty far from being laugh-out-loud funny, if one could even place it in humor’s proximity. It’s about an Arab butcher in an Israeli grocery store who is accused by his co-workers of tearing down the posters of the October 7 hostages in the breakroom. Due to the film’s quiet nature, the probability of the character Samir being dragged out to the back of the store and being beaten by impassionate workers is low, but not zero. Instead, Butcher’s Stain lets uneasiness guide and push Samir in uncomfortable conversations, which can be both beneficial and deteriorating to the human condition.
The head with on-the-nose humor is most certainly Jane Austen’s Period Drama, the kind of idea that occurs in a quick quip-exchange but finds itself nestled in a devoted cast and script to see it through the end. I won’t explain too much, but it’s the kind of idea that can only properly thrive in a short film.
Ambition makes people stronger, and there’s no joking that Two People Exchanging Saliva, a dystopian French romantic tragedy that makes little legal sense, is this year’s most ambitious piece. All the rules that occur in this world are not explained but two practices are prominent: people are not allowed to kiss and currency is exchanged through slaps (i.e. a drink at a convenience store is one slap, while a luxury item might warrant 32 slaps). To discourage kissing, people do not brush their teeth and chew garlic gum. Still, halitosis cannot tamper the burning romance between Angine (Zar Amir of Holy Spider and Shayda) and a salesgirl named Malaise (Luàna Bajrami). Angine is a wealthy, older woman who is married to a man uninterested in breaking the rules (he also seems to profit in making coffins, which are where people are disposed in). She finds some sort of pained passion in shopping, and Malaise seems to pick up on her need for physical contact. Without understanding boundaries, Malaise presents Angine with a shoe insert, noting that one leg is shorter than the other. The passion is on fire.
PREDICTIONS
WHAT SHOULD WIN: Two People Exchanging Saliva
WHAT WILL WIN: Two People Exchanging Saliva
As I’ve learned with the Academy favoring An Irish Goodbye over Le pupille, a genuinely beautiful holiday film produced by Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón, ambition does not clear the path for a winner (though it is noteworthy that Julianne Moore and Isabella Huppert are executive producers behind Two People Exchanging Saliva, in which both would have also done as great of a job as Angine as Amir, and that it’s distributed by The New Yorker, who won last year’s category with I Am Not a Robot). But the winner is up in the air for me, and I’m okay with that.
Now playing @ Coolidge Corner Theatre
Click here to read Anna’s analysis of this year’s Animated nominees, and stay tuned for Best Documentary Shorts (opening Friday 2/27)
