For our seventh Rundown article, we tackle films that have short runtimes. After the jump, you’ll find our winner and runner-up predictions for Best Animated Short Film & Best Live Action Short Film as well as general commentary about the race. Wednesday, we’ll cover a category where putting it together is the motto.

Best Animated Short Film

Winner Predictions

• Animal Behavior
• Bao (TB R) [New] (TL O)
• Late Afternoon (WL O) [New] (PP O)
• One Small Step
• Weekends

Runner-Up Predictions

• Bao (WL R) [New]
• Weekends (PP O) (TB R) [New] (TL O)

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Wesley Lovell: This is a very difficult category to predict because most of these shorts are incredibly good. Late Afternoon, Bao, and One Small Step are ll the cream of this crop and any one of them could win. The Alzheimer’s story Late Afternoon has a lyrical beauty the other two do not, which could impress those who watch it. Bao packs and emotional punch and One Small Step has both emotion and joy, making either a potential runner-up.
Peter J. Patrick: This category is always difficult for me to predict, so I’ll just take a wild guess and say Late Afternoon for the win and Weekends for the show.
Tripp Burton: I really have no idea how this is going to go. Some years, the most seen film takes this prize, which would be the Pixar short Bao, but other years they go with the most emotionally resonant, which would seem to be Late Afternoon or One Small Step. Then there is Weekends, which has picked up the most awards of the group. I’m sticking with the Pixar, but nothing would surprise me here.
Thomas La Tourrette: In what feels like a somewhat weak year, the sweet but odd Bao looks to be the winner. This is the first Disney/Pixar short to be directed by a woman, and it seems likely that she will go on to get an Oscar for it. I am not certain what might upset it. Weekends, about a young boy shuttling between his parents, was nice but just did not tug at my heartstrings. Late Afternoon about an elderly woman who gets lost in her memories is sweet but similar to ones that have been done before. Animal Behavior, which is about a group of disparate animals in a group therapy session, was cute but sort of pointless. One Small Step was a wordless story about a young girl being encouraged to try for her dreams by her hard working father. Nothing new, but pretty well done. I would probably give Weekends the edge over One Small Step, but I do not think either of them will surpass Bao.

Best Live Action Short Film

Winner Predictions

• Detainment
• Fauve (PP R) [New]
• Marguerite (WL R) [New] (TB R) [New] (TL R) [New]
• Mother
• Skin

Runner-Up Predictions

• Fauve (TB R) [New]
• Mother (WL O)
• Skin (PP R) [New](TL R) [New]

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Wesley Lovell: Three of the five nominated shorts don’t really have an ending. They leave mysteries unsolved. Mother is the most emotionally potent while Marguerite is a bittersweet story. Skin has that element of comeuppance to it, but seems a bit stark for this group of voters. Detainment is powerful, but may be a bit too gutwrenching for these voters. In a tough call, I’m giving an edge to Marguerite, but could easily see Madre taking the prize, or almost any of them really.
Peter J. Patrick: This is another category that I have trouble predicting. I’ll go with Fauve over Skin although it could go either way.
Tripp Burton: The last several years this award has gone to the most heart-warming film, usually involving children. This year, there isn’t one of those, although the heart-warming Marguerite seems to fit the bill the best. If not, the expertly tense Fauve is probably the best bet.
Thomas La Tourrette: In a year of mostly disturbing shorts, I think the gentle and sweet Marguerite will win. It details the life of an elderly French woman as she is taken care of towards the end of her life, and a feeling of remorse for what might have been. She realized that one of her caretakers can have a more fulfilling life than she could have had. It’s sweet, warm, and sad, something I think the Academy will like. Detainment, based off of the transcripts from the two Liverpudlian boys who killed a two-year-old, would have stood a good chance of winning, except the mother of the young victim has been vocal over her displeasure in the film and how she wishes the filmmaker would withdraw it from competition. It is a striking and disturbing film, with stunning performances by the actors playing the boys and horrified ones by the actors playing their parents and realizing what they were capable of doing. Skin which follows a racist man who is subject to a cruel practical joke and learns that what you teach your children can come around to bite you, probably is the one that could upset Marguerite. Madre (Mother) takes a tense phone call and most parents’ worst fears and ratchets up the tension. The ending left me a little unmoved, which will probably keep it out of the winner’s circle. Fauve just left me blank, not knowing where the story of two boys out playing was supposed to go. I predict the gentle Marguerite to win, unless they go for the more disturbing Skin or Detainment.

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