88th Academy Awards Animated Short Films Shortlist

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that ten (10) animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 88th Academy Awards.

Sixty (60) pictures had originally qualified in the category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting.

These are the 10 short films.

Autos-Portraits (Carface), Claude Cloutier, Canada, 4'
Chez Moi (My Home), Phuong Mai Nguyen, France, 12'
Historia de Un Oso (Bear Story), Gabriel Osorio Vargas, Chile, 11'
If I Was God..., Cordell Barker, Canada, 8'
Love in the Time of March Madness, Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano, USA, 9'
Мы не можем жить без космоса Mi ne mozhem zhit bez kosmosa (We Can't Live Without Cosmos), Konstantin Bronzit, Russia, 16'
An Object at Rest, Seth Boyden, USA, 6'
Prologue, Richard Williams, UK, 6'
Sanjay's Super Team, Sanjay Patel, USA, 7'
World of Tomorrow, Don Hertzfeldt, USA, 17'

Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist. Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, London, New York and San Francisco in December.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Autos-Portraits (Carface) by Claude Cloutier
Synopsis: In this whirling, twirling automotive waltz, carefree cars cavort in all directions to the tune of “Que Sera, Sera,” while the black ooze that fuels them is unremittingly pumped from Mother Earth. If Busby Berkeley and Mel Brooks were asked to co-direct the apocalypse, it might look like this uproarious festival of destruction—the ultimate spectacle for our Big Oil-based civilization. Let the games begin!



Chez Moi (My Home) by Phuong Mai Nguyen
Synopsis: Hugo's mother is back home. The day after, when Hugo wakes up, he finds black feathers all over his house.



Historia de Un Oso (Bear Story), Gabriel Osorio Vargas
Synopsis: An old, lonesome bear tells the story of his life through a mechanical diorama.



If I Was God... by Cordell Barker
Synopsis: What would you do if you were 12 and suddenly found yourself charged with God-like powers? Would you use them for good? For bad? Perhaps a little of both? For one Grade 7 boy whose mind starts to wander while dissecting a frog in Biology class, the possibilities seem endless: having the power to toy with life and death, to create monsters who can punish those who torment him daily (in particular, Augie, who sits in the back row), and, more importantly, to create that one perfect day with Lily, the love of his 12-year-old life.



Мы не можем жить без космоса Mi ne mozhem zhit bez kosmosa (We Can't Live Without Cosmos) by Konstantin Bronzit
Synopsis: Two cosmonauts, two friends, try to do their best in their everyday training life to make their common dream a reality. But this story is not only about the dream.



Love in the Time of March Madness by Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano
Synopsis: An animated documentary. Melissa Johnson hit 6'4'' tall in 8th grade. Although this made her an instant basketball star, film explores her hilarious and awkward true-life misadventures in romance as she dates shorter men and gets cheered or jeered wherever she goes. Blazing with honesty and dark humor, this animated 'tall short' about embracing difference is certain to disarm and delight.



An Object at Rest by Seth Boyden
Synopsis: The story of a rock facing its greatest adversary: human civilization.



Prologue by Richard Williams
Synopsis: Describes an incident in the Spartan-Athenian wars of 2,400 years ago. In it, a small girl bears witness as warriors battle to death. The dialog-free project utilizes natural sounds to complement the intense animation.



Sanjay's Super Team by Sanjay Patel
Synopsis: Bored with his father's meditation, a young Indian boy daydreams of Hindu gods as superheroes.



World of Tomorrow by Don Hertzfeldt
Synopsis: A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.