15 German-co-produced short films have been submitted to the 99th Academy Awards® in the categories "Animated Short Film," "Live Action Short Film," and "Documentary Short Film" after qualifying for submission between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026, by winning an award or being screened in theaters in the United States. Among the titles are the winners of the live action categories of the German Short Film Awards 2025, AT HOME I FEEL LIKE LEAVING by Simon Maria Kubiena and MOTHER IS A NATURAL SINNER by Hoda Taheri and Boris Hadžija (DE/IR), as well as the Student Academy Award® 2026 winner THE PANIC INSIDE by Matthias Strasser. The animated short WITH TAPES AND TOASTS IN THE CAR by Kiana Naghshineh entered the race with the main awards of six Oscar®-qualifying festivals under its belt, the film is also a candidate for the European Film Awards 2027 and shortlisted for the French César 2027.

>>> For the first time, German Films and the German Short Film Association – AG Kurzfilm are partnering with T-Port, the industry platform for shorts and talents, to give more visibility to the submitted German short films. In T-Port’s partner catalogue "German Short Films: Awards Contenders", information is available for most of the submitted films, the films can be screened by registered users. <<<

Animation

9 MILLION COLORS by Bára Anna (CZ/DE/NO, Reynard Films)
15 min, 2025, Animated Grand Prize Indy Shorts International Film Fest Indianapolis 2026
Festivals (selection): Annecy 2025, Gijon 2025, Anima Brussels 2026, Guadalajara 2026, Vienna Shorts 2026, Palm Springs 2026, Karlovy Vary 2026, Encounters Bristol 2026

DAUGHTERS OF THE LATE COLONEL by Elizabeth Hobbs (GB/DE, Fabian&Fred)
9 min, 2026, Award for Best Animation Short Film Melbourne International Film Festival 2026, Best International Short Film Imaginaria International Animation Festival Conversano 2026
Festivals (selection): Quinzaine des Cinéastes Cannes 2026, Vienna Shorts 2026, Krakow 2026, Annecy 2026, Ottawa 2026, BFI London 2026, Gent 2026, Uppsala 2026, AFI Los Angeles 2026

MAMBO NO. 2 (MÜSSEN MÜSSEN) by Anne Feldmeier (Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF)
10 min, 2024, Animated Short Film Award New Orleans Film Festival 2025
Festivals (selection): PÖFF Shorts Tallinn 2024, South-by-Southwest Austin 2025, Palm Springs 2025, Guanajuato 2025

THE PANIC INSIDE by Matthias Strasser (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)
8 min, 2026, Student Academy Award® 2026
Festivals (selection): London International Animation Festival 2026, Spark Animation 2026, Canlandiranlar International Film Festival 2026

TEARS by Paulina Ziółkowska (DE/PL, Wait a Second!)
9 min, 2025, Best Animated Short Guanajuato International Film Festival 2026
Festivals (selection): Krakow 2025, Drama 2025, Tirana 2025, : Animateka Ljubljana 2025, Slamdance Los Angeles 2026, Kaboom Amsterdam 2026, Animafest Zagreb 2026, Imaginaria Conversano 2026

THE UNDYING PAIN OF EXISTENCE by Oscar Jacobson (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)
5 min, 2025, Stellar Award Animatoin Thomas Edison Film Festival 2026, Best Animated Short Atlanta Film Festival 2026
Festivals (selection): Encounters Bristol 2025, Cinanima Espinho 2025, PÖFF Shorts Tallinn 2025, Foyle 2025, Animateka Ljubljana 2025, Flickerfest Sydney 2026, Clermont-Ferrand 2026, Go Short Nijmegen 2026, Animafest Zagreb 2026, Palm Springs ShortFest 2026, Denver 2026

WITH TAPES AND TOASTS IN THE CAR (IM AUTO TAPES UND BUTTERBROT) by Kiana Naghshineh (DE/FR, ManicMonday)
14 min, 2025, Grand Prix International Competition Stuttgart International Animation Festival 2026, Animated Short Grand Jury Prize Seattle 2026, Best International Animated Short Film Chilemonos 2026, Best Short Film Award Animation Competition Short Shorts Tokyo 2026, Best Animation HollyShorts 2026, Best Animated Short Nashville Film Festival 2026
Festivals (selection): PÖFF Shorts Tallinn 2025, Premiers Plans Angers 2026, Clermont-Ferrand 2026, South-by-Southwest Austin 2026, Guadalajara 2026, Huesca 2026, Encounters Bristol 2026, AFI Los Angeles 2026

Live Action

AT HOME I FEEL LIKE LEAVING by Simona Maria Kubiena (DE/AT, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)
20 min, 2025, German Short Film Award 2025
Festivals (selection): Saarbrücken 2025, Premiers Plans Angers 2025, Diagonale Graz 2025, Vienna Shorts 2025, Manaki Brothers Film Festival 2025, Aguilar 2025

MOTHER IS A NATURAL SINNER by Hoda Taheri, Boris Hadžija (DE/IR, DFFB)
15 min, 2024, German Short Film Award 2025
Festivals (selection): Locarno 2024, Tirana 2024, Uppsala 2024, Winterthur 2024, Oberhausen 2025, Vienna Shorts 2025, Kinoforum São Paulo 2025, Leuven 2025, Zagreb 2025

NIGHTFACES (NACHTGESICHTER) by Martin Winter, Stefan Langthaler (AT/DE/ES)
23 min, 2024, Jury Award Best Narrative Short Santa Fe International Film Festival 2025
Festivals (selection): Bamberg 2024, Cinelebu 2024, Huesca 2024, Filmets Badalona 2024, Montecatini 2025, BuSho Shorts Budapest 2025, Newport Beach 2026, San Jose 2026

UNLEADED 95 (BLEIFREI 95) by Emma Hütt, Tina Muffler (DE/AT, Superzoom Film)
24 min, 2025, Austrian Short Film Prize – Austria Competition Vienna Shorts 2026
Festivals (selection): Locarno 2025, Belo Horizonte 2025, Saarbrücken 2026, Diagonale Graz 2026, Regard Saguenay 2026, Filmfest Dresden 2026, New Directors New Films New York 2026, Go Short Nijmegen 2026

WHISPERS OF A BURNING SCENT by Mo Harawe (SO/AT/DE)
28 min, 2026, Theatrical Run USA
Festivals (selection): Rotterdam 2026, Go Short Nijmegen 2026, Vila do Conde 2026, Melbourne 2026, Tirana 2026, BFI London 2026, Gent 2026, Uppsala 2026, Winterthur 2026

Documentary

A RECONNAISSANCE by Stefan Kruse (DE/DK, Academy of Media Arts Cologne KHM)
29 min, 2025, Mikeldi for Best Documentary Short Film ZINEBI Bilbao International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2025
Festivals (selection): Visions du Réel Nyon 2025, Festival dei Popoli Firenze 2025, KFFK Cologne 2025, Go Short Nijmegen 2026, Vienna Shorts 2026

AN OPEN FIELD by Teboho Edkins (ZA/FR/DE, Day Zero Films)
38 min, 2025, IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2025
Festivals (selection): Hot Springs 2026, Oberhausen 2026, Full Frame Durham 2026, Sheffield 2026

SLET 1988 by Marta Popivoda (DE/FR/RS, Fiskultura Films)
22 min, 2025, Best International Documentary Short Guanajuato International Film Festival 2026
Festivals (selection): Locarno 2025, Sarajevo 2025, Reykjavik 2025, New York Film Festival 2025, Viennale 2025, IDFA Amsterdam 2026, ZINEBI Bilbao 2025, Indielisboa 2026, Kinoforum São Paulo 2026

On December 15, 2026, the shortlists, each containing up to 15 titles, will be announced. The five nominated titles will be published on January 21, 2027. The Oscar® ceremony will take place on March 14, 2027.

Qualifications for submission:

To be eligible for submission to the Oscar® competition, a short film must have won a major prize at an international festival recognized 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 were not produced at universities can alternatively qualify for submission by having been commercially released in theaters in the USA for at least 7 days. The respective “qualifier” is indicated below the film title.

The Academy does not publish the titles of all submitted short films, so German Films cannot guarantee the completeness of this list.