German short films competing for the 97th Oscars® 2025
11 German and German-international short films have been submitted to the competition for the 97th Oscars® in the categories “Animated Short Film”, “Live Action Short Film” and “Documentary Short Film”, after winning a qualifying award or theatrical exhibition in the USA between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024:
Documentaries
AT THAT VERY MOMENT (EN EL MISMÍSIMO MOMENTO) by Rita Pauls, Federico Luis (12 min, 2023, AR/DE, Ruido, IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2023)
Festival screenings include: Zagreb Dox 2024, São Paulo 2024, Belo Horizonte 2024
I MAY ALWAYS ASK HER ANYTHING (ICH DARF SIE IMMER ALLES FRAGEN) by Silke Schönfeld (15 min, 2023, German Short Film Award 2023 – Documentary)
Festival screenings include: Oberhausen 2023, Dresden 2024
THOSE NEXT TO US by Bernhard Hetzenauer (30 min, 2023, DE/MX/AT/CH, Theatrical Run USA)
Festival screenings include: Telluride 2023, Diagonale Graz 2024, Vienna Shorts 2024, Guadalajara 2024
Live Action
ALEX IN THE FIELDS (ALEX IN DEN FELDERN) by Marie Zrenner (19 min, 2023, University of Television and Film Munich HFF, German Short Film Award 2023 – Fiction 10-30 Minutes)
Festival screenings include: Dresden 2024 (Goldener Reiter National Competition)
CRUST (KRUSTE) by Jens Kevin Georg (26 min, 2023, Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, ZDF/3sat, Narrative Grand Prize Indy Shorts Indianapolis 2024, Best International Short Film Award Odense Film Festival 2024 & Student Academy Award Narrative Silver Medal 2024)
Festival screenings include: Dallas 2024, Mecal Barcelona 2024, Durban 2024
Animation
BAIGAL NUUR – LAKE BAIGAL by Alisi Telengut (9 min, 2023, DE/CA, Best European Animation Film Go Short Nijmegen 2024)
Festival screenings include: Annecy 2023, Toronto 2023, Sundance 2024
JOKO by Izabela Plucinska (16 min, 2024, PL/DE/CZ, Claytraces, Wait a Second!, Grand Prix International Competition Animator – International Animated Film Festival Poznań 2024)
Festival screenings include: Krakow 2024, Annecy 2024 (Best Original Music), Sitges 2024, PÖFF Shorts Tallinn 2024
PACIFIC VEIN by Ulu Braun (12 min, 2024, Studio Ulu Braun, ASIFA Austria Award – Best Film International Competition Animation Avantgarde Vienna Shorts 2024)
Festival screenings include: Berlinale 2024, Guanajuato 2024, Sarajevo 2024, Uppsala 2024, Winterthur 2024
THE WILD-TEMPERED CLAVIER by Anna Samo (7 min, 2024, Tiger Unterwegs Filmproduktion, Theatrical Run USA)
Festival screenings include: Annecy 2024, Guanajuato 2024, Woodstock 2024 (Best Animated Short)
XANH by Thi Dang An Tran (12 min, 2022, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, German Short Film Award 2023 – Animation)
Festival screenings include: Interfilm Berlin 2023
ZOO by Tariq Rimawi (8 min, 2022, JO/DE, studioNICE, Theatrical Run USA)
Festival screenings include: Red Sea Film Festival 2022, Tangier 2023, Beirut 2023, Olympia 2023
On December 17, 2024, the “shortlists” of up to 15 titles each will be announced. The five nominated titles will be announced on January 17, 2025. The Oscar® ceremony will take place on March 2, 2025.
Qualifications for submission:
To be eligible to submit a short film to the Oscar competition, the film must have won a main prize at an international festival approved as “qualifying” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Student Academy Award, or a national film award (e.g. German Short Film Award). Short films that haven’t been produced at film schools may alternatively qualify for submission through a minimum 7-day commercial theatrical release in the United States. The respective “qualifier” is indicated in parentheses.
The Academy doesn’t publish the titles of all submitted short films, so German Films can’t guarantee this listing is complete.
