(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:

  1. Acid Rain
    Tomek Popakul (Poland)
    Qualified at Animafest Zagreb
  2. Augur
    David Doutel, Vasco Sá (Portugal/France)
    Qualified at Busan
  3. Blind Mice
    Nicholas D’Agostino (U.S.)
    Qualified at Raindance
  4. Cazatalentos
    José Herrera (Spain)
    Qualified through Goya Awards
  5. Cityunited
    Don Jayamanne (U.K.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Cityunited."
    “Cityunited.”
  6. Coffee Break
    María Cristina Pérez, Mauricio Cuervo Rincón (Colombia)
    Qualified at Bogoshorts
  7. Coaster
    Amos Sussigan, Dan Lund (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  8. Cops & Robbers (Räuber & Gendarm)
    Florian Maubach (Germany)
    Qualified through German Short Film Award
  9. Curse of the Monkeybird
    Pete Browngardt (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Curse of the Monkeybird."
    “Curse of the Monkeybird.”
  10. Cycles
    Jeff Gipson (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Cycles."
    “Cycles.”
  11. Dak’Toka Taíno
    Alba García (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  12. Dani
    Lizzy Hogenson (U.S.)
    Qualified at Palm Springs
  13. Daughter
    Daria Kashcheeva (Czech Republic)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
  14. Don’t Feed These Animals
    Guilherme Afonso and Miguel Madaíl de Freitas (Portugal)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  15. Dont Know What
    Thomas Renoldner (Austria)
    Qualified at Ottawa
  16. Downtown
    Kendra Vander Vliet (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  17. Drop
    Trent Correy (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Drop."
    “Drop.”
  18. Egg
    Martina Scarpelli (France/Denmark)
    Qualified at AFI Fest, Athens, Leipzig
  19. Elephant in the Room
    Brian Scott (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Elephant in the Room."
    “Elephant in the Room.”
  20. Exchange Student
    Natalie Nourigat (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

    "Exchange Student" by Natalie Nourigat.
    “Exchange Student.”

  21. Falafel Cart
    Abdullah Al-Wazzan (Kuwait)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  22. Fetch
    Mitch Counsell (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  23. Five Minutes to Sea
    Natalia Mirzoyan (Russia)
    Qualified at Animayo, Encounters, Lebu
  24. Flowing Through Wonder
    Joanna Lurie (France)
    Qualified at Flickerfest
  25. (Fool Time) Job
    Gilles Cuvelier (France)
    Qualified at Uppsala
  26. Follow the White Rabbid
    Meat Dept (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  27. Game Changer
    Aviv Mano (U.S.)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
  28. Girl in the Hallway
    Valerie Barnhart (Canada)
    Qualified at Edmonton
  29. Gon, The Little Fox
    Takeshi Yashiro (Japan)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  30. Grand Bassin
    Héloïse Courtois, Chloé Plat, Victori Jalabert, Adèle Raigneau (France)
    Qualified at Warsaw
  31. Grendel
    Kalee McCollaum (U.S.)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
    "Grendel."
    “Grendel.”
  32. Guaxuma
    Nara Normande (Brazil/France)
    Qualified at Cinequest, Guadalajara, SXSW
  33. Gun Shop
    Patrick Smith (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  34. Hair-Jitsu
    Brian Estrada (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  35. Hair Love
    Matthew A. Cherry, Everett Downing Jr., Bruce W. Smith (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  36. Hands
    John Canemaker (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Hands."
    “Hands.”
  37. He Can’t Live Without Cosmos
    Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)
    Qualified at Tirana, In the Palace
  38. Henrietta Bulkowski
    Rachel Johnson (U.S.)
    Qualified at Atlanta, Santa Barbara
  39. Hors Piste
    Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet (France)
    Qualified at New York Int’ Children’s Film Festival
  40. How I Left Your Father
    Explosm/Connor Murphy (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  41. Ian, A Moving Story
    Abel Goldfarb (Argentina)
    Qualified at Cleveland
  42. I’m Going Out for Cigarettes (Je sors acheter des cigarettes)
    Osman Cerfon (France)
    Qualified at Animator Int’ Festival
  43. Jing Hua
    Jerry Huynh (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

    "Jing Hua" by Jerry Huynh.
    “Jing Hua.”

  44. Just a Thought
    Brian Menz (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

    "Just A Thought" directed by Brian Menz.
    “Just A Thought.”

  45. Kitbull
    Rosana Sullivan (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  46. Las Del Diente
    Ana Pérez López (Spain)
    Qualified at Florida
  47. Le Mans 1955
    Quentin Baillieux (France)
    Qualified at St. Louis
  48. Lightning in a Bottle
    John Aquino (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Lightning in a Bottle."
    “Lightning in a Bottle.”
  49. Lucky Toupee
    Nikki Mull (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  50. Maestro
    Illogic (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  51. Marooned
    Andrew Erekson (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  52. Memorable
    Bruno Collet (France)
    Qualified at Annecy
  53. Mind My Mind
    Floor Adams (Netherlands/Belgium)
    Qualified at Rhode Island
  54. Mr. Mare
    Luca Tóth (Hungary/France)
    Qualified at Odense
  55. My Generation
    Ludovic Houplain (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  56. My Little Goat
    Tomoki Misato (Japan)
    Qualified at Short Shorts
  57. My Moon
    Eusong Lee (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  58. My Mother’s Eyes
    Jenny Wright (U.K.)
    Qualified at Tribeca
  59. Ostrich Politic
    Mohamad Houhou (France)
    Qualified at LA Shorts Fest
  60. Plankton
    Gustaf Lindström (U.K.)
    Qualified at Interfilm
  61. Portrait of Suzanne
    Izabela Plucińska (Poland/Germany/France)
    Qualified at Krakow
  62. Primos
    Federico Gutiérrez Obeso (Mexico)
    Qualified at Chilemonos
  63. Puddles
    Zach Parrish (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Puddles."
    “Puddles.”
  64. Purl
    Kristen Lester (U.S.)
    Qualified at Siggraph
  65. Raymonde or the Vertical Escape
    Sarah van der Boom (France)
    Qualified at Leeds
  66. Reneepoptosis
    Renee Zhan (U.S./Japan)
    Qualified at Sundance
  67. Reruns
    Rosto (France/Netherlands/Belgium)
    Qualified at Anima
  68. Riviera
    Jonas Schloesing (France)
    Qualified at Guanajuato, Regard — Saguenay Int’ Film Festival
  69. Roughhouse
    Jonathan Hodgson (U.K./France)
    Qualified through BAFTA Awards
  70. Selfies
    Claudius Gentinetta (Switzerland)
    Qualified at San Francisco
  71. Shalva (=Tranquility)
    Danna Windsor (U.S.)
    Qualified at Slamdance
  72. Sister
    Siqi Song (U.S./China)
    Qualified at Aspen Shortsfest, Austin, Foyle, Hollyshorts
  73. Sitara: Let Girls Dream
    Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (Pakistan)
    Qualified through public exhibition in New York City
  74. Smash and Grab
    Brian Larsen (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  75. Sohrab and Rustum
    Lee Whitmore (Australia)
    Qualified at Sydney
  76. Songs to Sing in the Dark
    Riannon Delanoy (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  77. Substance
    Jamaal Bradley (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  78. Streets of Fury
    Aidan McAteer (Ireland)
    Qualified at Galway
  79. Tasks of the Day
    Petya Zlateva (Bulgaria)
    Qualified at In the Palace
  80. The Bird and the Whale
    Carol Freeman (Ireland)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  81. The Flood Is Coming
    Gabriel Böhmer (Switzerland/U.K.)
    Qualified at Winterthur
  82. The Kite
    Martin Smatana (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland)
  83. The Opposites Game
    Lisa LaBracio, Anna Samo (U.S.)
    Qualified at Raindance
  84. The Physics of Sorrow
    Theodore Ushev (Canada)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  85. The Procession (Le cortège)
    Pascal Blanchet, Rodolphe Saint-Gelais (Canada)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "The Procession."
    “The Procession.”
  86. The Race
    Terry Moews (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  87. The Wheel Turns
    Sang Joon Kim (U.S./Japan/South Korea)
    Qualified at Sitges
  88. Two
    Emre Okten (U.S.)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
  89. Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
    Regina Pessoa (Canada/France/Portugal)
    Qualified at Anima Mundi, Annecy
  90. Walking Meat
    Shinya Sugai (Japan)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
  91. Under the Rib Cage
    Bruno Tondeur (France/Belgium)
    Qualified at Krakow
  92. Zenith
    Jennifer Stratton (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    "Zenith."
    “Zenith.”
  93. Zog
    Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon (U.K.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

Amid Amidi contributed to this story.

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Alex Dudok de Wit

Alex Dudok de Wit is Deputy Editor of Cartoon Brew.

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