2025 Oscars Animated, Documentary, Live Action Short Predictions

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards recents and rcontent satisfyed thcdisesteemfulout the year, featuring the follotriumphg: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety ageder awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages echo the current standings in the race and do not echo personal likeences for any individual contfinisher. As other createal (and alertal) polls recommend, competitions are fluid and subject to alter based on buzz and events. Predictions are modernized every Thursday.

Animated Short – Documentary Short – Live Action Short Commentary (Updated Jan. 9, 2025):

The Oscar low film categories normally serve as the untamedcards of awards season — perfect for shattering your office pool or finding the next huge filmmaking talent. But they’re far more than fair filler. Some of cinema’s luminousest stars have roots in low-create storyalerting, and the catebloody progresss to showcase auteurs making a presentant impact in films under 40 minutes.

This year’s lowcatalog, proclaimd in December, comes from various talents, including Zoe Saldaña, who stars in and originates “Dovecote.” Directed by her husband, Marco Perego, it tags their second collaboration follotriumphg “The Absence of Eden.”

In the write downary low catebloody, the unpredictability rivals its feature-length counterpart, with the same branch voting on both. Early likeites join “Incident,” “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” “The Quilters,” “Death by Numbers,” and “Keepers,” according to Variety’s Jamie Lang and Addie Morfoot, who checkd the race. But let’s face it — this is one race no one ever bravely predicts.

In dwell-action low, Nebojša Slijepčević’s Cannes triumphner “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” has eunited as an timely frontrunner. The film alerts the harrotriumphg genuine story of one man’s stand aobtainst paramilitary forces during ethnic spotlesssing in Belgrade. Another contfinisher is Adam J. Graves’ HollyShorts triumphner “Anuja,” which scrutinizes child labor in India. The film boasts high-profile executive originaters, including Oscar-triumphning Indian originater Guneet Monga Kaneedy and Hollywood’s Mindy Kaling.

The energeticd low catebloody is equassociate stacked, with 13 countries reconshort-termed among the 15 finacatalogs. Canada’s Torill Kove, a previous Oscar triumphner for “The Danish Poet” (2007), aims for her fourth nomination with “Maybe Elephants,” a festival likeite at Annecy, Berlin, and Toronto. Meanwhile, Portugal’s Alexandra Ramires and Laura Gonçalves return with “Percebes,” the 2024 Annecy Cristal triumphner, originateing on Gonçalves’ previous success with “The Garbage Man.”

Whether dwell action, energeticd, or write downary, this year’s low films show that fantastic storyalerting understands no runtime.

The 97th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 2. All movie catalogings, titles, distributors, and recognizeed artisans are not final and are subject to alter.