For the 20th consecutive year, the ICA presents the Oscar-nominated live-action, animated, and documentary shorts you always wish you’d seen come Oscar night. A perennial hit with audiences around the country and the world, don’t miss this year’s selection of shorts. The Academy Awards take place Sunday, March 15.

Please note: Some films in this program include some disturbing and mature content and may not be suitable for very young children.

Schedule

Animation:

  • Fri, Feb 20, 7 PM
  • Sat, Feb 28, 1 PM 
  • Thurs, Mar 5, 7 PM
  • Sat, Mar 7, 1 PM
  • Sun, Mar 8, 1 PM

Live Action:

  • Fri, Feb 27, 7 PM 
  • Sat, Feb 28, 3 PM
  • Sat, Mar 7, 3 PM
  • Sun, Mar 8, 3 PM

Documentary:

  • Sun, Feb 22, 2 PM

Animation

Runtime: 80 minutes
Some films in this program include some disturbing and mature content and may not be suitable for very young children.

Butterfly
Florence Miailhe, 15 min. France
A poignant retelling of Olympic swimmer Alfred Nakache’s life, from his rise to fame to surviving Auschwitz, presented as memories flashing back during his final swim.

Éiru
Giovanna Ferrari, 13 min. Ireland
When the water mysteriously disappears from the well in a warrior clan’s village, an intrepid child descends into the belly of the earth to retrieve it. Éiru is the story of a child in search of a challenge, and a goddess in search of a champion.

Forevergreen
Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, 13 min. United States
A joyful adventure featuring an orphaned bear cub and a fatherly tree turns serious when the cub is tempted by the allure of easy food. Fire and deadly danger ensue as the cub is left bereft of hope and on the verge of a ruinous end, until the sacrificial love of the tree falls into place.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, 17 min. Canada
A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds.

Retiremant Plan
John Kelly, 7 min. Ireland
Retirement Plan tells the story of Ray (Domhnall Gleeson) as he fantasises about everything he’d love to do in retirement, once he finally has the “time.”

The Three Sisters
Konstantin Bronzit, 14 min. Israel, Cyprus
Three sisters live a lonely life on an isolated island, each in their own small house. One day, circumstances develop in such a way that they are forced to rent out one of the houses.

Live Action

Runtime: 114 minutes
Some films in this program contain adult language, adult themes, and sensual images. Recommended for persons 17 and up.

Butcher’s Stain
Meyer Levinson-Blount, 26 min. Israel
Samir, a Palestinian butcher working at an Israeli supermarket, is accused of tearing down the Israeli hostage posters in the break room. Samir sets out to prove his innocence in order to keep his job he desperately needs.

A Friend of Dorothy
Lee Knight, 21 min. United Kingdom
A Friend of Dorothy is a tender story of loneliness and unexpected friendships.

Jane Austen’s Period Drama
Steve Pinder and Julia Aks, 12 min. United States
Jane Austen’s Period Drama is a 2024 English-language short comedy written and directed by Julia Aks and Steve Pinder. The film is a satire on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

The Singers
Sam A. Davis, 18 min. United States
The Singers is a short film adaptation of a 19th-century short story written by Ivan Turgenev, in which a lowly pub full of downtrodden patrons connect unexpectedly through an impromptu sing-off. With a cast comprised of viral video singing talents and other one-of-a-kind personalities from the unlikeliest corners of the internet, the film is an experimental docu-musical hybrid crafted like an improvisational play.

Two People Exchanging Saliva
Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh, 36 min. France, United States
Two People Exchanging Saliva explores a dystopian world where kissing is punishable by death.

Documentary

Running Time: 153 minutes
Some films in this program contain graphic war imagery, adult themes, and language. Recommended for persons 17 and up.

All The Empty Rooms
Joshua Seftel, 33 min. United States
In this moving short documentary, a journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.

Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Craig Renaud and Brent Renaud, 38 min. United States
An intimate chronicle about documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud, the first American journalist killed while reporting on the Russo-Ukrainian War

Children No More: Were and are Gone
Hilla Medalia, 36 min. Israel
In Tel Aviv, activists gather weekly to demonstrate their opposition to the war in Gaza with a silent vigil for the children killed in Israeli attacks.

The Devil Is Busy
Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir, 31 min. United States
The film chronicles a day on the frontlines in the battle for reproductive rights at a women’s healthcare clinic.

Perfectly A Strangeness
Alison McAlpine, 15 min. Canada
In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.

Accessibility

  • Accessible seating is available first-come first-served and may be selected upon theater entry. Please contact our Visitor Services team at visitorservices@icaboston.org or 617-478-3100 for more information.
  • Assistive listening devices are available for all theater programs at the theater entrance.
  • A link to live captioning will be shared by the day of the event and will be available in the theater.
  • ASL interpretation is available by advance request; please contact our Visitors Services team at 617-478-3100 or visitorservices@icaboston.org to make a request.

Are there other access accommodations that would be useful to help you fully participate in this program? Let us know at accessibility@icaboston.org or learn more about Accessibility at the ICA at icaboston.org/accessibility.