Simon's Oscar Preview 2013: Short Films

This week's schedule:
Monday - Art & Design, Music
Tuesday - Technical Achievements
Wednesday - Short Films, Special Feature Films
Thursday - Writing & Directing, Acting
Friday - Best Picture

Films I haven't seen are marked accordingly.

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Nominees: Asad, Buzkashi Boys, Curfew, Death of a Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw), Henry

Who Will Win: Curfew
Who Should Win: Death of a Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw)

The short films are probably the hardest to predict out of all twenty-four categories. Access can be limited and weighing the public consensus is near impossible. I am fortunate to live in a major city, so every year I get to go to a theater and watch the short film programs in one fell swoop. This year's Live Action shorts weren't the strongest group in recent memory. Death of a Shadow was far and away my personal favorite, starring the excellent Matthias Schoenaerts in a tense, heavily stylized sci-fi thriller. Asad was another standout, but it appears that Curfew is rising to the top of the heap in the eyes of Oscar prognosticators. Many of these films are available through iTunes, thanks to the kind people at Shorts International, and I encourage you all to check them out for yourself.

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Nominees: Adam and Dog, Fresh Guacamole, Head over Heels, Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare", Paperman

Who Will Win: Paperman
Who Should Win: Paperman

Disney's aggressively adorable Paperman must be the heavy favorite here. While none of the other nominees are weak by any stretch of the imagination, the style, story and technical innovations of Paperman are very hard to ignore. In field that feels full of highly accomplished student films, Paperman's overt professionalism and polish makes it stand out. Unlike the other short films, many of these nominees can be easily found with a bit of YouTube hunting. Go! Watch!

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)

Nominees: Inocente (have not seen), Kings Point (have not seen), Mondays at Racine (have not seen), Open Heart (have not seen), Redemption (have not seen)

Who Will Win: Open Heart
Who Should Win: ?????

So... yeah. I haven't seen a single film nominated in this category. I try very hard each year to see everything up for an Oscar, but the Short Docs got away from me this time around. As such, I'm left with only a handful of unreliable reviews and betting websites for guidance. Thankfully, all of my sources seem to be coalescing around Open Heart, so I'll be putting my money there barring some new developments. Is there some great work hiding here, in plain sight? I have no idea.