It’s that time of year again, time to watch the Oscar-nominated shorts — true gems of awards season. Watch them all at once, or watch a few and save some for later. Whichever way you go, you can’t go wrong. Whether animated shorts, live-action shorts or short documentaries, these films can be topical, joyful, devastating, whimsical, meditative, thought-provoking and revealing of important real-world issues. While some theaters, like the IFC Center in New York and The Clairidge in Montclair, are screening the short films in batches, you can also watch many of them one by one online or on streaming. Here’s a rundown of where to find them, what to expect and some possible Oscar frontrunners. The 2025 Oscars, aka the 97th Academy Awards, air Sunday, March 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. Best animated short Some videos below contain (animated) nudity. ‘In the Shadow of the Cypress’ Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi, Iran A former ship’s captain is suffering from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. He lashes out violently against his daughter, who lives with him in a small oceanside home. He’s taken it so far that she’s ready to pack up and leave when a whale washes ashore. She rushes to help, and her quest to save it becomes a potential lifeline for her father and their relationship — if he can muster the strength to take action. Available on Vimeo ($3.99 to rent, $9.99 to buy). Here’s the trailer: ‘Wander to Wonder’ Nina Gantz, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, France In this delightful stop-motion animation short, Billybud, Mary and Fumbleton are the tiny human stars of “Wander to Wonder,” a 1980s children’s TV show. They are left to their own devices when the show’s full-sized human creator dies. Food is running out — they are down to their last pickle — and giant flies buzz around the house, but the trio remains committed to recording more episodes of the show (and watching old ones). Full-frontal animated nudity is involved, so maybe not for young kids, but this short, which just won a BAFTA, seems like a clear Oscar frontrunner for its sheer originality, exuberance and instant ability to tug on our ’80s and VHS-based nostalgia. Available to watch on Vimeo ($3.99 to rent, $9.99 to buy), 14 minutes. Here’s the trailer: Loïc Espuche, France A coming-of-age short set around a group of children’s introduction to — yuck! — kissing. They laugh and point at the couples kissing around them until their lips also start glowing pink — are they next?!? Available on Vimeo ($3.99 to rent, $9.99 to buy), 13 minutes. Here’s a trailer: 'Beautiful Men' Nicolas Keppens, Belgium, France and The Netherlands This stop-motion film is about three brothers who travel to Turkey to get hair transplants. Things go haywire soon after their arrival, and there’s definitely a laugh or three to be had during their pursuit for lustrous locks. (This is another one with full-frontal stop-motion nudity.) Available to rent ($3.99) or buy ($9.99) on Vimeo, 19 minutes. Here’s the trailer: ‘Magic Candies’ Daisuke Nishio, Japan A boy named Dong-Dong is a bit of a loner, since he’s left out when other kids play. He gets a bunch of what he thinks are marbles, but are actually magic candies. Dong-Dong discovers that the candies have a transformative effect on people, animals and objects around him — each candy unleashes a different special power when he tastes them. He engages in some life-altering conversations as the magical sweets cut through silence to reveal previous unheard truths. Not currently available online, but here’s the trailer: Best live-action short Note: videos below may contain disturbing images Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz, United States A possible Oscar frontrunner for its handling of a subject that is very much in the news. This short is based on the harrowing reality that people have been detained and arrested by ICE when they show up for their green card appointments. A family — wife, husband, young daughter — rushes to the husband’s green card appointment in New York only to face the threat of being permanently separated. It doesn’t matter that he has lived in the city for almost his whole life, his “alien” status as an undocumented immigrant is like a lien, a debt that he can never pay. Watch “A Lien” for free below (14 minutes): Adam J. Graves, United States This Hindi-language film, whose producers include Mindy Kaling and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, is about a young girl named Anuja and her sister Palak. They both work in a clothing factory in India, but Palak knows her brilliant sister should not be confined to this work. Everyone is telling Anuja to take a boarding school exam that could change her life, but when the opportunist factory owner tries to capitalize on her genius, she has a choice to make. Available to watch on Netflix, 22 minutes. See trailer below. ‘I’m Not a Robot' Victoria Warmerdam, Belgium and The Netherlands Are you a robot? It’s a familiar question to anyone who has taken a captcha test to fill out a form online or access a website. And if you’ve taken a captcha test, chances are you’ve also failed a captcha test and had to take it again. But what happens when you just can’t pass? Are you indeed a robot? Lara faces just this predicament one day at work. A series of failed captchas has her questioning the very nature of her existence. This is a New Yorker short available to watch for free on YouTube, 22 minutes: ‘The Last Ranger’ Cindy Lee, South Africa This Xhosa-language and English-language film set during the COVID-19 pandemic is based on a real story of rhinoceros poaching at the Amakhala Game Reserve in South Africa. Khuselwa, the “last ranger” on the reserve, guards the rhinos against poachers. She takes a girl named Litha with her to work one day when she sees poachers on the hunt and tries to thwart an attack in progress. Litha, who watches the horror unfold, makes another unsettling discovery on the trip. This short (28 mins.) is not available in full online. Here’s the trailer: ‘The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent’ Nebojša Slijepčević, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and France This Croatian film, another standout at the Oscars that could well win, already won the Palme d’Or for short film at the Cannes Film Festival. The story is based on the Štrpci massacre of 1993 in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. A Bosnian Serb paramilitary group boarded a train and detained 24 Muslim Bosniak passengers, later killing them. “The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent” is told from the perspective of the passengers on the train. As the militants interrogate civilians and demand documents, one man bravely stands up to them and is taken off the train. The man represents Tomo Buzov, a Croatian retired officer from the Yugoslav People’s Army who stood up to the paramilitary group and was killed for doing so. Because Buzov resisted their orders, he saved the life of a 17-year-old boy. Available to watch on Vimeo ($3.99 to rent), 13 minutes. Here’s a clip from the film: Best documentary short ‘Death By Numbers’ Kim A. Snyder, United States This film won the documentary shorts competition at the Montclair Film Festival. “Death By Nubmers” follows Sam Fuentes, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, as she prepares to confront the shooter when she testifies in court. Fuentes wrote the film, which takes place four years after she was shot with an AR-15. Not available to watch online, but here’s a clip: ‘I Am Ready, Warden’ Smriti Mundhra, United States This film follows the last days of John Henry Ramirez, who was on death row in Texas after being convicted of murder. Before his execution in 2022, Ramirez tries to make a connection with the son of the man he killed in 2004. The film is streaming on Paramount+, 36 minutes. Bill Morrison, United States The film examines the 2018 police shooting of Harith “Snoop” Augustus in Chicago by officer Dillan Halley using bodycam footage and surveillance video. “Incident,” from The New Yorker, is available to watch for free on YouTube, 30 minutes. The video is age-restricted and cannot be shared outside of YouTube. Here’s a trailer: ‘Instruments of a Beating Heart’ Ema Ryan Yamazaki, Japan This film follows Japanese elementary school students who create an orchestra and rehearse for a performance. The short examines the dynamics of teamwork and the cultural expectations of working together in harmony. This film, from The New York Times, is available to watch for free on YouTube, 23 minutes: ‘The Only Girl in the Orchestra’ Molly O’Brien, United States This film is about the trailblazing double bassist Orin O’Brien. In 1966, she became the first woman to join the New York Philharmonic. The film is streaming on Netflix, 35 minutes. Here’s a trailer: Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.