The race for this year’s Oscar for best animated short is on. The qualifying period is over, and we can reveal that at least 84 films have qualified.
We are publishing the preliminary list below, in alphabetical order. It has been confirmed by sources within the Academy. Note that the list is subject to change, and this article may be updated accordingly.
For now, though, the list of 84 films represents a slight drop in number from last year, when around 96 shorts qualified — an all-time record, as far as we’re aware. It’s worth noting that this year’s qualification period was two months shorter than last year’s, which was extended in response to the pandemic.
To recap: a short can become eligible for an Oscar in one of three ways. It has to be publicly exhibited in one of a number of major U.S. cities under certain conditions, or take home an award at a designated “qualifying” festival, or win at the Student Academy Awards. The filmmakers must then submit it to the Academy.
The shortlist of competing films will be announced on December 21; for the first time, 15 films will be included, rather than the usual ten. They will be whittled down to five nominees, which will be announced on February 8, 2022. The Oscars ceremony will follow on March 27.
Below are the films on the longlist. Where available, we’ve included a trailer, or even the complete film. Anyone working in the industry, including students, can apply to register for free to The Animation Showcase, a streaming platform that offers a unique opportunity to watch some of the qualified shorts (click here for more information).
Affairs of the Art
Joanna Quinn
Angakusajaujuq: The Shaman’s Apprentice
Zacharias Kunuk
Any Instant Whatever
Michelle Brand
Are You Okay?
Ryan Cannon
Aurora
Jo Meuris
Bad Mood
Loris Giuseppe Nese
Bad Seeds
Claude Cloutier
Barking Orders
Alexander Tullo
Bestia
Hugo Covarrubias
A Bite of Bone
Honami Yano
Blue & Malone: Impossible Cases
Abraham López Guerrero
Blush
Joe Mateo
The Boob Fairy
Léahn Vivier-Chapas
Boxballet
Anton Dyakov
The Boy & the Mountain
Santiago Aguilera, Gabriel Monreal
The Broken Candle
Felix Kiner
The Cat
Mary Apick
The Chimney Swift
Frédéric Schuld
Crowded
Nathania Rubin
Demi’s Panic
Bill Plympton
Easter Eggs
Nicolas Keppens
Ecorce
Samuel Patthey, Silvain Monney
The Expected
Carolina Sandvik
Far from the Tree
Natalie Nourigat
Farce
Robin Jensen
Flowing Home
Sandra Desmazières
Footsteps on the Wind
Maya Sanbar
The Fourfold
Alisi Telengut
Freebird
Joe Bluhm, Michael McDonald
Friend of a Friend
Zachary Zezima
Good and Better
Gil Alkabetz
Gravedad
Matisse Gonzalez Jordan
The Hangman at Home
Michelle and Uri Kranot
Her Song
Éabha Bortolozzo, Jack Kirwan
Hide
Daniel Gray
Homebird
Ewa Smyk
Hot Flash
Thea Hollatz
I’m a Pebble
Mélanie Berteraut Platon, Yasmine Bresson, Léo Coulombier, Nicolas Grondin, Maxime Le Chapelain, Louise Massé
In the Shadow of the Pines
Anne Koizumi
Innocent Friendship
Amee Oza, Devarshi Oza
It’s All the Salt’s Fault
María Cristina Pérez
La Bestia
Marlijn van Nuenen, Ram Tamez, Alfredo Gerard Kuttikatt
Life’s a Bitch
Varya Yakovleva
Los Huesos
Joaquín Cociña, Cristóbal León
Louis’ Shoes
Marion Philippe, Kayu Leung, Théo Jamin, Jean Geraud Blanc
Matilda ir atsarginė galva
Ignas Meilunas
Memento Mori
Paul O’Flanagan
Migrants
Hugo Caby, Zoé Devise, Antoine Dupriez, Aubin Kubiak, Lucas Lermytte
Mila
Cinzia Angelini
Monster Pets: A Hotel Transylvania Short
Jennifer Kluska, Derek Drymon
Mum Is Pouring Rain
Hugo de Faucompret
The Musician
Reza Riahi
Namoo
Erick Oh
The Natural Death of a Mouse
Katharina Huber
Night Bus
Joe Hsieh
Nona
Louis Gonzales
Normal
Julie Caty
Nuevo Rico
Kristian Mercado
O Black Hole!
Renee Zhan
On/Off
Nicolas P. Villarreal
Only a Child
Simone Giampaolo
Our Perpetual Now
Jorge Aguilar Rojo
The Owl and the Pussycat
Mole Hill
Pearl Diver
Margrethe Danielsen
Robin Robin
Dan Ojari, Mikey Please
Routine: The Prohibition
Samuel Ortí Martí
The Runaway Bunny
Amy Schatz
September 12th
Richard O’Connor
Slumber with Snakes
Teagan Barrone
The Source of the Mountains
Adrien Communier, Camille Di Dio, Benjamin François, Pierre Gorichon, Briag Mallat, Marianne Moisy
Souvenir Souvenir
Bastien Dubois
Step into the River
Weijia Ma
Tulip
Andrea Love, Phoebe Wahl
Twenty Something
Aphton Corbin
Un coeur d’or
Simon Filliot
Un diable dans la poche
Antoine Bonnet, Mathilde Loubes
Unforgotten
Sujin Kim
Us Again
Zach Parrish
The Vandal
Eddie Alcazar
The Village Bride
Hitoshi Haga
“Welcome Home”
Dana Crypto
The Windshield Wiper
Alberto Mielgo
Would Have
Dave Siegel
The Zolle Suite
Kristian Pedersen
Benoit Berthe Siward contributed research to this article.
Images at top, left to right: “Bad Seeds,” “Twenty Something,” “Nuevo Rico,” “Any Instant Whatever”
