2026 Oscar® Shorts (Animated)

The nominees for Best Animated Short Film include The Girl Who Cried Pearls, a fable from Canadian filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, narrated by Colm Feore.

Butterfly (Florence Miailhe, France, 15 min)
A poignant retelling of Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache’s life, from his rise to fame to surviving Auschwitz, presented as memories flashing back during his final swim.

Forevergreen (Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, USA, 13 min)
A joyful adventure featuring an orphaned bear cub and a fatherly tree turns serious when the cub is tempted by the allure of easy food.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls (Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, Canada, 17 min)
In Montreal, at the dawn of the 20th century, a poor boy falls in love with a girl whose tears turn into pearls.

Retirement Plan (John Kelly, Ireland, 7 min)
Ray (Domhnall Gleeson) as he fantasises about everything he’d love to do in retirement, once he finally has the “time.”

The Three Sisters (Konstantin Bronzit, Israel/Cyprus, 14 min)
Three sisters live a lonely life on an isolated island, each in their own small house, until the day they are forced to rent one out.

This program also includes one of the shortlisted films:

Éiru (Giovanna Ferrari, Ireland, 13 min)
When the water mysteriously disappears from the well in a warrior clan’s village, an intrepid child descends into the belly of the earth to retrieve it.