2026 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action
Showcasing the best short films from around the world, the 2026 Oscar®-Nominated Shorts includes three feature-length programs, one for each Academy Award® Short Film category: Animated, Documentary and Live Action.
Some films in this program contain adult language, adult themes and sensual images. Recommended for persons 17 and up.
2026 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts (in Alphabetical Order):
Butcher's Stain
dir. Meyer Levinson-Blount/Israel/26min.
Samir, a Palestinian butcher working at an Israeli supermarket, is accused of tearing down the Israeli hostage posters in the break room. Samir sets out to prove his innocence in order to keep his job he desperately needs.
A Friend of Dorothy
dir. Lee Knight/United Kingdom/21min.
Dorothy (BAFTA winner Miriam Margolyes) is a lonely widow whose body is failing, but her mind remains as bright as ever. When 17-year-old JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu) accidentally kicks his football into her garden, he upends Dorothy’s daily routine of pills, prunes and crosswords, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Despite being worlds apart in every way, the two come to find they have more in common than they could ever imagine.
Jane Austen's Period Drama
dirs. Steve Pinder and Julia Aks/USA/12min.
England, 1813. Miss Estrogenia “Essy” Talbot gets her period during a long-awaited marriage proposal. Mr. Dickley mistakes the blood for an injury and rushes off to fetch a doctor. While he’s gone, Essy’s sisters plead with her not to imperil her engagement by telling Mr. Dickley the truth. But when he returns, Essy barrels ahead, sharing every little bloody detail.
The Singers
dir. Sam A. Davis/USA/18min
The Singers is a short film adaptation of a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden patrons connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off. With a cast comprised of viral video singing talents and other one-of-a-kind personalities from the unlikeliest corners of the internet, the film is an experimental docu-musical hybrid crafted like an improvisational play.
Two People Exchanging Saliva
dirs. Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh/France, USA/36min
In a society where kissing is punishable by death, and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face, Angine, an unhappy woman, shops compulsively in a department store. There, she becomes fascinated by a playful salesgirl. Despite the prohibition of kissing, the two become close, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague.
