While unrated, please note that the live action shorts program should be treated as an R-rated presentation for adult themes, violence, and language.

Ala Kachuu – Take and Run – dir. MARIA BRENDLE, Switzerland, 38 minutes, 2020

Torn between her desire for freedom and the constraints of Kyrgyz culture, 19-year-old Sezim desperately seeks an escape from a forced marriage.

On My Mind – dir. MARTIN STRANGE-HANSEN, Denmark, 18 minutes, 2021

Henrik wants to sing a song for his wife. It has to be today, it has to be now. It’s a question of life, death…and karaoke.

Please Hold – dir. KD DAVILA, USA, 19 minutes, 2020

In the not-so-distant future, a young Latino man finds himself locked in a fully automated jail, realizing that to get out alive he’ll have to go head-to-head with the labyrinthine, computerized bureaucracy of the privatized American justice system.

The Dress – dir. TADEUSZ LYSIAK, Poland, 30 minutes, 2020

Julia suppresses her desires for lust, sexuality, and physicality while working at a wayside motel. That is, until she crosses paths with a handsome truck driver, who soon becomes the object of her fantasies…

The Long Goodbye – dir. ANEIL KARIA, UK, 12 minutes, 2020

Riz and his family are in the middle of preparing a wedding celebration when events unfolding in the outside world arrive suddenly on their doorstep. The result is a devastating and visceral feat of filmmaking, and a poignant poetic cry from the heart.

Showtimes are also available for Oscar Shorts: Animated and Oscar Shorts: Documentary.