2026 Oscar®-Nominated Shorts: Live Action

The Oscar®-Nominated Shorts will be in theaters on February 20, 2026.Showcasing the best short films from around the world, the 2026 Oscar®-Nominated Shorts includes three feature-length programs, one for each Academy Award® Short Film category: Animated, Documentary and Live Action. Check out this year's nominees!

This year's "Live Action" program includes:

A Friend of Dorothy
dir. Lee Knight, United Kingdom, 21 min

Dorothy (BAFTA winner Miriam Margolyes) is a lonely widow whose body is failing, but her mind remains as bright as ever. When 17-year-old JJ (Alistair Nwachukwu) accidentally kicks his football into her garden, he upends Dorothy’s daily routine of pills, prunes and crosswords, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Despite being worlds apart in every way, the two come to find they have more in common than they could ever imagine.

Jane Austen's Period Drama
dir. Steve Pinder and Julia Aks, USA, 12 min

England, 1813. Miss Estrogenia “Essy” Talbot gets her period during a long-awaited marriage proposal. Mr. Dickley mistakes the blood for an injury and rushes off to fetch a doctor. While he’s gone, Essy’s sisters plead with her not to imperil her engagement by telling Mr. Dickley the truth. But when he returns, Essy barrels ahead, sharing every little bloody detail.

Butcher's Stain
dir. Meyer Levinson-Blount, Israel, 26min

Samir, a Palestinian butcher working at an Israeli supermarket, is accused of tearing down the Israeli hostage posters in the break room. Samir sets out to prove his innocence in order to keep his job he desperately needs.

The Singers
dir. Sam A. Davis, USA, 18 min

The Singers is a short film adaptation of a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden patrons connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off. With a cast comprised of viral video singing talents and other one-of-a-kind personalities from the unlikeliest corners of the internet, the film is an experimental docu-musical hybrid crafted like an improvisational play.

Two People Exchanging Saliva
dir. Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, France/USA, 36 min

In a society where kissing is punishable by death, and people pay for things by receiving slaps to the face, Angine, an unhappy woman, shops compulsively in a department store. There, she becomes fascinated by a playful salesgirl. Despite the prohibition of kissing, the two become close, raising the suspicions of a jealous colleague.

Please also join us for this year's Animated Shorts at Cornell Cinema on Saturday, February 28, and Documentary Shorts on Sunday, March 8.

The 98th Academy Awards take place on Sunday, March 15, 2026.