Every Best Animated Short Film nominee, reviewed — 2020 Oscars

This year’s Oscar nominees for Best Animated Short Film offer a diverse selection of animation that share a commonality in the emotional bonds of relationships

See the rest of Jane’s 2020 Oscar spotlight series here.

Whether for their artistic style or emotional narrative, each contender for Best Animated Short provides a unique blend of creativity and heart. Here’s a quick rundown of each film and their chance of winning an Oscar.

Daughter (dir by Daria Kashcheeva)

• Studio: FAMU

• Running time: 14 minutes

• Quick Summary: A young woman and her terminally ill father reflect back on their problematic relationship. 

What’s great: The film has no talking parts so the animation has to do a lot of the heavy work in portraying all the character emotions. The stop-motion animation here does this splendidly. Kashcheeva even invented a new film technology for the film. A hand-held camera movement that is able to capture intimate close-ups on the characters’ faces, capturing the pain and love between them …