18 German and German-international short films have been submitted to the competition for the 96th Oscars® in the categories "Animated Short Film", "Live Action Short Film" and "Documentary Short Film", after winning a qualifying award or theatrical exhibition in the USA between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023:

Animated Short Film

BACKFLIP by Nikita Diakur (12 min, 2022, DE/FR, Best Animated Short Film - German Short Film Award 2022)
I’M NOT AFRAID! by Marita Mayer (7 min, 2022, DE/NO, Fabian&Fred, Theatrical Run USA)
LITTLE FAN by Sveta Yuferova, Shad Lee Bradbury (5 min, 2023, Paul Maresch Produktion, Theatrical Run USA)
MARIUPOL. A HUNDRED NIGHTS by Sofiia Melnyk (7 min, 2023, UA/DE, Silver Dragon Best Short Animated Film -Krakow Film Festival 2023)
NIGHT by Ahmad Saleh (16 min, 2021, DE/QA/JO/PS, Fabian&Fred, Theatrical Run USA)
REST IN PIECE by Antoine Antabi (9 min, 2022, DE/FR, Reynard Films, Best Animation Short - Atlanta Film Festival 2023)

Live Action Short Film

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY by Francesco Sossai (17 min, 2023, DE/FR/IT, DFFB, Grand Prix International Competition - Curtas Vila do Conde 2023)
HUMAN NATURE by Mónica Lima (26 min, 2023, PT/DE, DFFB, New Matter Films, International Grand Prize – Regard Saguenay International Film Festival 2023, Best Portuguese Short Film - Curtas Vila do Conde 2023)
ISTINA (TRUTH) by Tamara Denić (28 min, 2023, Hamburg Media School, Student Academy Award 2023)
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE TODAY by Sophia Groening (8 min, 2022, Best Live Action Short up to 10 min - German Short Film Award 2022)
THE KIDNAPPING OF THE BRIDE by Sophia Mocorrea (30 min, 2023, Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, Short Film Jury Award International Fiction - Sundance Film Festival 2023)
THE NEWT CONGRESS by Matthias Sahli, Immanuel Esser (16 min, 2022, CH/DE, Best Short Film in the SOFC - Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia 2022)
A STUDY OF EMPATHY by Hilke Rönnfeldt (15 min, 2023, DK/DE, North Ship Film, Pardino d’oro Best International Short Film – Locarno Film Festival 2023)

Documentary Short Film

LAMARCK by Marian Mayland (27 min, 2022, Best Documentary Short - German Short Film Award 2022)
RED EARS by Paul Drey (30 min, 2022, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Grand Prix International Competition - Tampere Film Festival 2023)
TURTLENECK PHANTASIES by Gernot Wieland (18 min, 2022, AT/DE, Grand Prize German Competition – Oberhausen International Short Film Festival 2023)
THE UNICORN IN SNOWPANTS SUDDENLY RAN OFF by Philipp Schaeffer (18 min, 2022, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize - Slamdance Film Festival 2023)
THE WAITING by Volker Schlecht (16 min, 2023, mobyDOK, Theatrical Run USA)

On December 21 2023, the "shortlists" of up to 15 titles each will be announced. The five nominated titles will be announced on January 23, 2024. The Oscar® ceremony will take place on March 10, 2024.

Qualifications for submission:
To be eligible to submit a short film to the Oscar competition, the film must have won a main prize at an international festival approved as "qualifying" by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Student Academy Award, or a national film award (e.g. German Short Film Award). Short films that haven’t been produced at film schools may alternatively qualify for submission through a minimum 7-day commercial theatrical release in the United States. The respective "qualifier" is indicated in parentheses.

The Academy doesn’t publish the titles of all submitted short films, so German Films can’t guarantee this listing is complete.

Contact:
Martin Scheuring (Head of Short Films & Market Projects)