2025 Oscars Best Live Action Short cheat sheet: From ‘Anuja’ to ‘Room Taken’
Predicting the nominees for the three short film categories at the Oscars is no easy task. Fortunately for you, we are here to help. Below are the 15 shortlisted titles for Best Live Action Short at the Academy Awards along with descriptions and embedded videos where available.
Among the subjects on this year’s list: an adolescent boy seeking to prove that he belongs in his family, the last moments that a woman spends in prison, a woman seeking to figure out whether she’s an android, and a Jewish ice cream shop owner in 1940s Amsterdam.
Here is your 2025 Oscars Best Live Action Short cheat sheet:
“Anuja” – A 9-year-old girl working at a garment factory in India is offered the chance to attend school and is now forced to make a decision that will long affect both her and her sister. Directed by Adam J. Graves.
“Clodagh” – A housekeeper to a lonely priest also runs a dance school and ends up meeting a young girl who shows an incredible amount of promise. Directed by Portia A. Buckley.
SEE Awards Magnet: Breaking down the 2025 Oscar shortlists snubs and surprises
“The Compatriot” – Two men encounter each other in the middle of a blizzard at an isolated cottage on New Year’s Eve 1944. One is a widower, the other an SS officer, and they only thing they have in common is their ancestry in Sudetenland. Directed by Viktor Horák and Pavel Sýkora. The film also claimed the gold medal in narrative filmmaking at this year’s Student Academy Awards.
“Crust” – To prove himself worthy to his family, 12-year-old Fabi must get his first scar. The short earned director Jens Kevin Georg the silver medal in narrative at this year’s Student Academy Awards. Watch below:
“Dovecote” – Looks at the last moments of a woman in a Venice prison (actress/producer Zoe Saldaña) before she’s finally released. Directed by Marco Perego.
“Edge of Space” – In 1961, an striving pilot in the Air Force is recruited by NASA to take part in a daring mission in a rocket-powered aircraft. Directed by Jean de Meuron.
“The Ice Cream Man” – Tells the true story of Ernst Cahn (played by Noah Emmerich), the Jewish owner of an ice cream parlor who flees Germany for the Netherlands. As he sets up shop and the Nazis begin their occupation of the country, Ernst finds he has been targeted for persecution by Klaus Barbie. Directed by Robert Moniot.
“I’m Not a Robot” – When Lara is unable to complete a CAPTCHA, she seeks other means to determine whether or not she’s actually a robot. Directed by Victoria Warmerdam. Watch below:
SEE Emilia Pérez and Wicked up? Anora down? How to unpack the 2025 Oscar shortlists
“The Last Ranger” – Litha is a young girl that’s being introduced to a game reserve by the only remaining ranger. When the reserve is insnared by poachers, the two must help save the rhinos but Litha also learns a terrible secret. Directed by Cindy Lee.
“A Lien” – A young couple find themselves having to deal with an incredibly dangerous immigration process. Directed by David Cutler-Kreutz and Sam Cutler-Kreutz. Watch below:
“The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” – In war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993, a passenger train is stopped by paramilitary forces to conduct an ethnic cleansing operation and only one of the passengers has the courage to stand up to the atrocity. Director Debojsa Slijepcevic won the Palme d’Or for the best short film this year at Cannes.
“The Masterpiece” – In an effort to capture his girlfriend for a contest, portrait photographer Rohan starts risking the couple’s bond as well as his stability. Directed by Kundan Sad.
“An Orange From Jaffa” – Mohammed, a young Palestinian man, seeks a taxi to take him through an Israeli checkpoint. Trouble ensues when the driver, Farouk, figures out that Mohammed had already failed to make it pass the checkpoint before. Directed by Mohammed Almughanni.
“Paris 70” – Jan is forced to care for his mother when she starts to fall deeper into Alzheimer’s, forcing him to consider how best to ease her suffering. Directed by Dani Feixas Roka.
“Room Taken” – Isaac needs to find a place to sleep so he covertly moves into an elderly blind woman’s apartment — and a rare bond forms between the two. Directed by TJ O’Grady Peyton. Watch below:
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions