Aug 23, 2022

9 Animated Short Films Nominated for the 2023 Academy Awards

It has been another busy year for animated short films, and as we approach the end of 2022, the Academy Awards selection deadline is once again approaching.

For the first time since 2009, there were no Disney entries on the 2022 nomination list, and three of the five shorts were independently produced. Ultimately, one of those films, "Windshield Wiper," won the Oscar, so all eyes are on whether an indie can win another Oscar in 2023. Here is an early look at nine promising animated films that performed well on the festival circuit in the first half of 2022. Most, but not all, meet Academy Award eligibility by winning awards at eligible festivals: Director: Balázs Turay Country: Hungary, Romania Hungary, Romania Awards Annecy Prizes (Cristal for Best Animated Short Film, French TV Awards for Best Short)

It is no ordinary feat to win an Annecy Award for a second short film: Amok is a genre comedy about a minute-by-minute battle with inner and outer demons. It pours pop culture references, elements of fantasy and horror, and a rock 'n' roll foundation into a deeply saturated palette of colors to form an irreverent yet complete package.

Directed by Country: Israel, UK Israel, UK: Best International Short Film, Chirimono International Animated Film Festival, Heartland Indie Short Animation Award

Uri Lotan is a Tel Aviv-based animator, Adam Campbell, Elizabeth His graduation film, The Ballad of Poisonberry Pete (2012), co-directed with McMahill, premiered as part of the Cartoon Brew student festival and won the 2013 Annie Award for Best Student Film. The Black Slide follows Evaia, a young man who can't forget his troubles no matter how hard he tries. Through inventive narrative structure and the metaphor of an intimidatingly high waterslide, Lotan clearly conveys the complicated ruin of Evaia's home life and the weight of the impending inevitability that ensues.

Director Country: Portugal Portuguese Prize Grand Prix Zagreb, Zagreb Audience Award for Best Short Film

Following the successful 2017 film Drop by Drop (Água Mole), animator Laura Gonsalves has spent 30 years in France The film tells the story of her uncle Botao, a garbage collector, through the voices of family members who knew him well. With its pastel beauty, this animated documentary, which won the Grand Prix in Zagreb, evokes the nostalgic nostalgia of a picture book and takes advantage of the freedom of animation to show details of the uncle's life beyond the words spoken in the narration. Between the interview audio and visual storytelling, Gonsalves has created a loving portrait of a playful man who existed far beyond the label of work.

Director João Gonzalez Country of Origin Portugal, France, United Kingdom Award: Leitz Cine Discovery Award, Critics' Week, Cannes Film Festival

The first independent short film by RCA native João Gonzalez. His first post-graduation film, entered in the Critics' Week at the Cannes International Film Festival, is impressive enough on its own, let alone winning an award.

Director Tal Cantor Country France, IsraelAward: Animafest Zagreb Zlatko Grgic Award for best first film by a first-time director excluding educational institutions

Animator, artist and art director Cantor's latest film, this short film is a modern-day Holocaust story that highlights the threat of generational disconnect with past wrongs and the lack of internal understanding of lessons learned. Survivors read letters of gratitude written by their high school classes after the war, but the gravity of the situation is not understood by all but one girl. As a result, her nightmares dominate the majority of the film, and Cantor's signature monochrome rotoscoping is used to inject just enough color at key moments to have the most impact.

Director Diana Cam Van Nguyen Country Czech Republic, Slovakia Awards: AFI Fest - Grand Jury Prize - Animation, Krakow Film Festival Silver Dragon for Best Animated Film (and Jury Award for Best European Film), Seattle International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize - Short Film Competition

"Love, Dad" is the story of a father who breaks up his family. Dad" is the filmmaker's attempt to reconcile the real situation in which the father was forced to make a choice that would destroy his family with the true love shown years later in a series of touching letters. Cam Van Nguyen uses animated objects and skillful photographic reproduction to achieve a kind of realistic documentation of her life; Love, Dad has had a longer run than the other films on this list and has steadily gained award and acclaim momentum in that time.

Director Joseph Pearce Country Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic Award: Best Animation, Vila de Condé International Short Film Festival.

While Pearce released his live-action short "The Baby Shower" in 2016, "Scale" is his first animated short since 2012's "The Pub," which was honored with an entry in this summer's Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival. This brainy film draws on Pearce's signature psychedelic vibe to adapt the Will Self story of the same name about his father's struggle with addiction. Supported by a literary narration, portions of the film continually expand and contract, playing on the central metaphor that addiction feels like a loss of scale.

Director Sander Jun Country: Awards: Best Short Film & Best Animation, Palm Springs International Short Film Festival, Estonia; Golden Gate Award for Best Animated Short Film, San Francisco International Film Festival; Audience Award, GLAS Animation Festival

Director Špela.adež Country: Slovenia, Germany, FranceAwards: Grand Prix Anima (Brussels), Annecy Jury Prize (Best Short Film)

Liza is late getting home for dinner and falls into a trap. Steak House is a tense, intimate revenge fantasy that is at once disturbingly familiar and funny, a hallmark of Cades' work. Produced entirely in analog cutout under a multiplane camera setup, The Steakhouse has enjoyed a busy festival run worthy of its artistic approach, winning the Grand Prix in Brussels and the Jury Prize in Annecy.

Above: "Letters to a Pig", "Black Slide", "Amok"