The 2021 Oscar Nominated Short Films

Fred Melamed, and Polly Draper help sell its comedy, yet it’s Rachel Sennott, the film’s rising star, who keeps Shiva Baby interesting. “There’s an ambiguity to her Danielle,” a quiet rebelliousness that’s “essential in keeping the audience from guessing how prepared she is to blow up her own world.” By the time this short film nears its climax, it becomes “a symphony in the key of anxiety,” said Helen Shaw in NYMag.com. “But for all my desire to look away, I couldn’t. Danielle is a mess—a bit mean, plenty defensive, reckless, and selfish. But who among us is not the same?” (In select theaters or $7 on demand) Not rated

Times. In her final performance, Sowetoborn Twala Mhlongo plays an 80-year-old widow who sets aside grief to protest a dam project that threatens to flood her village. The film’s images prove “as respectful of the wonder of horizon and sky as the people closer in the frame.” Still, Mhlongo carries the tale. “Her lined face, frail but steady stature, and admirable doggedness are this movie’s relief map of human endurance.” ($10 via virtual cinemas) Not rated

All of the short films nominated for Oscars this year are currently showing on big screens, said The New York Times. The shorts are grouped in three programs—live action, animation, and documentary. And there’s a lot of variety, from Burrow—a feelgood animated short about a disco-loving bunny—to the action-packed documentary Do Not Split, which captures the 2019 protests in Hong Kong from the inside. (In theaters or $12 each via virtual cinemas)