Oscar-Nominated Shorts

The Oscar-Nominated short films are currently screening across the Live Action, Animation, and Documentary categories. If you only have time for one, I recommend: “Two People Exchanging Saliva.”

This story takes place in a world where kissing is punishable by death, so bad breath is a good thing, and instead of money you pay with slaps to the face. 

This film felt the most risk-taking. It's in black and white. It places us in a world that is familiar but operates by totally different rules. While watching, you’re working to figure out what rules this world operates by. What are the stakes for the characters we quickly come to love? 

It feels like it belongs in the Twilight Zone or Black Mirror universes. The set design and costuming build this chic but dangerous world. Is it in the distant future, the present, or even the past? 

What I love most is that this short trusts its audience is curious and intelligent. We're left to figure out the meaning ourselves. Why does this world operate in this way? What are we meant to take away from this story? It's not overt in messaging or meaning, it's subtle and provocative. 

I miss this kind of intelligent ambiguity and artistry, and it was delicious to experience in “Two People Exchanging Saliva.”

This story left me with the most to think about. While I quickly forgot some of the other shorts, I'm still thinking about this one days later. Find the 2026 Oscar-Nominated Shorts screening near you.