2020 Best Animated Short Film Oscar: A List Of Potentially Qualifying Films In The Category (Exclusive)
(UPDATE: The headline for this piece has been updated to label these films as “potentially qualifying” rather than qualifying or submitted. All of these films have technically qualified for the race, but should be considered “potentially qualified” since the films must also be submitted to the Academy and meet the Academy’s other rules and regulations before fully qualifying. Further explanation can be found below.)
Cartoon Brew has learned that a record 92 animated shorts have been submitted for the Best Animated Short Film category of the 2020 Academy Awards.
While that list of films is not made public, Cartoon Brew has used publicly available information as well as privately submitted information from filmmakers to compile a list of films that we believe to have been qualified for the category.
There are three pathways to qualifying for the Academy Award Best Animated Short category:
- The film must have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival. The list of film festivals and the specific awards at those festivals that can qualify a film can be found in this pdf.
- The picture must have been publicly exhibited for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County or the City of New York for a run of at least seven consecutive days with at least one screening a day prior to public exhibition or distribution by any non-theatrical means. The picture also must appear in the theater listings along with the appropriate dates and screening time(s).
- The film must have won a Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal award in the Academy’s 2019 Student Academy Awards competition in the Animation, Narrative, Alternative or International categories.
Even though all of the films in our list are technically eligible, it is still up to the filmmaker to take the extra step of entering the film into the Oscar competition. And even if the film qualifies by winning an award or screening theatrically, it has to follow all of the Academy’s rules and regulations before officially qualifying for the race. For these reasons, no one can be absolutely certain whether all of these films will be on the final list of qualified films, however at this moment in time, it is the closest thing available to a complete list.
First-round voting by members of the Academy’s Short Films and Feature Animation Branch will take place in New York on October 26 and 27, and in Los Angeles on November 9 and 10. Online voting for the shortlist will take place between December 6-10. The 10-film shortlist is scheduled to be announced on December 16.
The nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards will be announced on Monday, January 13, 2020, and the Oscars will be presented on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California.
The films are presented below in alphabetical order:
- Acid Rain
Tomek Popakul (Poland)
Qualified at Animafest Zagreb - Augur
David Doutel, Vasco Sá (Portugal/France)
Qualified at Busan - Blind Mice
Nicholas D’Agostino (U.S.)
Qualified at Raindance - Cazatalentos
José Herrera (Spain)
Qualified through Goya Awards - Cityunited
Don Jayamanne (U.K.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Cityunited.” - Coffee Break
María Cristina Pérez, Mauricio Cuervo Rincón (Colombia)
Qualified at Bogoshorts - Coaster
Amos Sussigan, Dan Lund (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Cops & Robbers (Räuber & Gendarm)
Florian Maubach (Germany)
Qualified through German Short Film Award - Curse of the Monkeybird
Pete Browngardt (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Curse of the Monkeybird.” - Cycles
Jeff Gipson (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Cycles.” - Dak’Toka Taíno
Alba García (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Dani
Lizzy Hogenson (U.S.)
Qualified at Palm Springs - Daughter
Daria Kashcheeva (Czech Republic)
Qualified at Student Academy Awards - Don’t Feed These Animals
Guilherme Afonso and Miguel Madaíl de Freitas (Portugal)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Dont Know What
Thomas Renoldner (Austria)
Qualified at Ottawa - Downtown
Kendra Vander Vliet (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Drop
Trent Correy (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Drop.” - Egg
Martina Scarpelli (France/Denmark)
Qualified at AFI Fest, Athens, Leipzig - Elephant in the Room
Brian Scott (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Elephant in the Room.” - Exchange Student
Natalie Nourigat (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Exchange Student.” - Falafel Cart
Abdullah Al-Wazzan (Kuwait)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Fetch
Mitch Counsell (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
- Five Minutes to Sea
Natalia Mirzoyan (Russia)
Qualified at Animayo, Encounters, Lebu - Flowing Through Wonder
Joanna Lurie (France)
Qualified at Flickerfest - (Fool Time) Job
Gilles Cuvelier (France)
Qualified at Uppsala - Follow the White Rabbid
Meat Dept (France)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Game Changer
Aviv Mano (U.S.)
Qualified at Student Academy Awards - Girl in the Hallway
Valerie Barnhart (Canada)
Qualified at Edmonton - Gon, The Little Fox
Takeshi Yashiro (Japan)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Grand Bassin
Héloïse Courtois, Chloé Plat, Victori Jalabert, Adèle Raigneau (France)
Qualified at Warsaw - Grendel
Kalee McCollaum (U.S.)
Qualified at Student Academy Awards
“Grendel.” - Guaxuma
Nara Normande (Brazil/France)
Qualified at Cinequest, Guadalajara, SXSW - Gun Shop
Patrick Smith (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Hair-Jitsu
Brian Estrada (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Hair Love
Matthew A. Cherry, Everett Downing Jr., Bruce W. Smith (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Hands
John Canemaker (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Hands.” - He Can’t Live Without Cosmos
Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)
Qualified at Tirana, In the Palace - Henrietta Bulkowski
Rachel Johnson (U.S.)
Qualified at Atlanta, Santa Barbara - Hors Piste
Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet (France)
Qualified at New York Int’ Children’s Film Festival - How I Left Your Father
Explosm/Connor Murphy (France)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Ian, A Moving Story
Abel Goldfarb (Argentina)
Qualified at Cleveland - I’m Going Out for Cigarettes (Je sors acheter des cigarettes)
Osman Cerfon (France)
Qualified at Animator Int’ Festival - Jing Hua
Jerry Huynh (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Jing Hua.” - Just a Thought
Brian Menz (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Just A Thought.” - Kitbull
Rosana Sullivan (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Las Del Diente
Ana Pérez López (Spain)
Qualified at Florida - Le Mans 1955
Quentin Baillieux (France)
Qualified at St. Louis - Lightning in a Bottle
John Aquino (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Lightning in a Bottle.” - Lucky Toupee
Nikki Mull (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Maestro
Illogic (France)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Marooned
Andrew Erekson (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Memorable
Bruno Collet (France)
Qualified at Annecy - Mind My Mind
Floor Adams (Netherlands/Belgium)
Qualified at Rhode Island - Mr. Mare
Luca Tóth (Hungary/France)
Qualified at Odense - My Generation
Ludovic Houplain (France)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - My Little Goat
Tomoki Misato (Japan)
Qualified at Short Shorts - My Moon
Eusong Lee (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - My Mother’s Eyes
Jenny Wright (U.K.)
Qualified at Tribeca - Ostrich Politic
Mohamad Houhou (France)
Qualified at LA Shorts Fest - Plankton
Gustaf Lindström (U.K.)
Qualified at Interfilm - Portrait of Suzanne
Izabela Plucińska (Poland/Germany/France)
Qualified at Krakow - Primos
Federico Gutiérrez Obeso (Mexico)
Qualified at Chilemonos - Puddles
Zach Parrish (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Puddles.” - Purl
Kristen Lester (U.S.)
Qualified at Siggraph - Raymonde or the Vertical Escape
Sarah van der Boom (France)
Qualified at Leeds - Reneepoptosis
Renee Zhan (U.S./Japan)
Qualified at Sundance - Reruns
Rosto (France/Netherlands/Belgium)
Qualified at Anima - Riviera
Jonas Schloesing (France)
Qualified at Guanajuato, Regard — Saguenay Int’ Film Festival - Roughhouse
Jonathan Hodgson (U.K./France)
Qualified through BAFTA Awards - Selfies
Claudius Gentinetta (Switzerland)
Qualified at San Francisco - Shalva (=Tranquility)
Danna Windsor (U.S.)
Qualified at Slamdance - Sister
Siqi Song (U.S./China)
Qualified at Aspen Shortsfest, Austin, Foyle, Hollyshorts - Sitara: Let Girls Dream
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (Pakistan)
Qualified through public exhibition in New York City - Smash and Grab
Brian Larsen (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Sohrab and Rustum
Lee Whitmore (Australia)
Qualified at Sydney - Songs to Sing in the Dark
Riannon Delanoy (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Substance
Jamaal Bradley (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Streets of Fury
Aidan McAteer (Ireland)
Qualified at Galway - Tasks of the Day
Petya Zlateva (Bulgaria)
Qualified at In the Palace - The Bird and the Whale
Carol Freeman (Ireland)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - The Flood Is Coming
Gabriel Böhmer (Switzerland/U.K.)
Qualified at Winterthur - The Kite
Martin Smatana (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland) - The Opposites Game
Lisa LaBracio, Anna Samo (U.S.)
Qualified at Raindance - The Physics of Sorrow
Theodore Ushev (Canada)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - The Procession (Le cortège)
Pascal Blanchet, Rodolphe Saint-Gelais (Canada)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“The Procession.” - The Race
Terry Moews (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - The Wheel Turns
Sang Joon Kim (U.S./Japan/South Korea)
Qualified at Sitges - Two
Emre Okten (U.S.)
Qualified at Student Academy Awards - Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
Regina Pessoa (Canada/France/Portugal)
Qualified at Anima Mundi, Annecy - Walking Meat
Shinya Sugai (Japan)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county - Under the Rib Cage
Bruno Tondeur (France/Belgium)
Qualified at Krakow - Zenith
Jennifer Stratton (U.S.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
“Zenith.” - Zog
Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon (U.K.)
Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
Amid Amidi contributed to this story.
