Oscar Predictions: Best Live Action Short Film

Fifteen films have been shortlisted in the Best Live Action Short Film category for the 97^th Oscars. Last year’s winner, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, came from director Wes Anderson, and only one such high-profile contender is in the mix this year. Zoe Saldaña, who is widely expected to be nominated for her performance in Emilia Pérez, also stars in Dovecote, an almost dialogue-free film about a woman being released from prison that may benefit from her involvement. Executive producer Kim Magnusson, who has won twice out of seven past nominations in this category, is backing two films in contention this year: Edge of Space and I’m Not a Robot.

This category tends towards foreign-language selections, and there are a few likely frontrunners that feel particularly timely. One, however, is American: A Lien, a heart-wrenching look at one couple going into a green card interview that will feel particularly poignant considering the current immigration climate in the United States. An Orange from Jaffais a surprisingly light-hearted story of a Palestinian man trying to cross into Israel via a checkpoint that highlights a region deeply immersed in conflict in a way that doesn’t feel completely desolate. I’m Not a Robot, from the Netherlands, is even less serious, a creative look at what happens when one woman realizes that she can’t actually prove to herself that she’s human. Anujais another unexpectedly uplifting look at a young child in India choosing between two different paths for her life.

Representing history shouldn’t be underestimated here, with three contenders in particular looking back at formative moments in European and global history. The Ice Cream Man stars American actor Noah Emmerich as a Jewish ice cream store owner in 1940s Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. The Compatriot is a more intimate spotlight of two men in the same era in Czechoslovakia meeting face-to-face. The Man Who Could Not Remain Silentshowcases an affirming act of solidarity on board a train in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. Edge of Space, reminiscent of last year’s shortlisted The Shepherd, is set during the U.S.-Soviet space race, and also one of the only English-language films in competition here. The Last Ranger is more contemporary but looks at the fight for the protection of rhinos in South Africa.

The remaining films all find ways to pull at the heartstrings. Two Irish entries, Clodagh and Room Taken, present unlikely relationships, with an aspiring dancer impressing one woman with potential power to put her on the right track in the former and two people discovering how they might be more right for each other than they ever imagined in the latter. The Masterpiece, from Spain, follows a wealthy couple inviting a father-and-son recycling team into their home and questioning whether they can trust them. Paris 70, also from Spain, is sure to move those who, like the film’s protagonist, have cared for a parent losing their memories. The German entry Crust, about a small family unit whose primary rite of passage is sustaining a serious injury, may be just clever and charming enough to secure a slot.

Predicted nominees: Anuja, Crust, I’m Not a Robot, A Lien, An Orange from Jaffa