2020 Best Animated Short Film Oscar: A List Of Potentially Qualifying Films In The Category (Exclusive)

(UPDATE: The headline for this piece has been updated to label these films as “potentially qualifying” rather than qualifying or submitted. All of these films have technically qualified for the race, but should be considered “potentially qualified” since the films must also be submitted to the Academy and meet the Academy’s other rules and regulations before fully qualifying. Further explanation can be found below.)

Cartoon Brew has learned that a record 92 animated shorts have been submitted for the Best Animated Short Film category of the 2020 Academy Awards.

While that list of films is not made public, Cartoon Brew has used publicly available information as well as privately submitted information from filmmakers to compile a list of films that we believe to have been qualified for the category.

There are three pathways to qualifying for the Academy Award Best Animated Short category:

• The film must have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival. The list of film festivals and the specific awards at those festivals that can qualify a film can be found in this pdf.
• The picture must have been publicly exhibited for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County or the City of New York for a run of at least seven consecutive days with at least one screening a day prior to public exhibition or distribution by any non-theatrical means. The picture also must appear in the theater listings along with the appropriate dates and screening time(s).
• The film must have won a Gold, Silver or Bronze Medal award in the Academy’s 2019 Student Academy Awards competition in the Animation, Narrative, Alternative or International categories.

Even though all of the films in our list are technically eligible, it is still up to the filmmaker to take the extra step of entering the film into the Oscar competition. And even if the film qualifies by winning an award or screening theatrically, it has to follow all of the Academy’s rules and regulations before officially qualifying for the race. For these reasons, no one can be absolutely certain whether all of these films will be on the final list of qualified films, however at this moment in time, it is the closest thing available to a complete list.

First-round voting by members of the Academy’s Short Films and Feature Animation Branch will take place in New York on October 26 and 27, and in Los Angeles on November 9 and 10. Online voting for the shortlist will take place between December 6-10. The 10-film shortlist is scheduled to be announced on December 16.

The nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards will be announced on Monday, January 13, 2020, and the Oscars will be presented on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, California.

The films are presented below in alphabetical order:

1. Acid Rain
   Tomek Popakul (Poland)
   Qualified at Animafest Zagreb
   
2. Augur
   David Doutel, Vasco Sá (Portugal/France)
   Qualified at Busan
   
3. Blind Mice
   Nicholas D’Agostino (U.S.)
   Qualified at Raindance
   
4. Cazatalentos
   José Herrera (Spain)
   Qualified through Goya Awards
   
5. Cityunited
   Don Jayamanne (U.K.)
   Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
   

   

6. Coffee Break
   María Cristina Pérez, Mauricio Cuervo Rincón (Colombia)
   Qualified at Bogoshorts
   
7. Coaster
   Amos Sussigan, Dan Lund (U.S.)
   Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
   
8. Cops & Robbers (Räuber & Gendarm)
   Florian Maubach (Germany)
   Qualified through German Short Film Award
   
9. Curse of the Monkeybird
   Pete Browngardt (U.S.)
   Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
   

   

10. Cycles
    Jeff Gipson (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

11. Dak’Toka Taíno
    Alba García (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
12. Dani
    Lizzy Hogenson (U.S.)
    Qualified at Palm Springs
    
13. Daughter
    Daria Kashcheeva (Czech Republic)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
    
14. Don’t Feed These Animals
    Guilherme Afonso and Miguel Madaíl de Freitas (Portugal)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
15. Dont Know What
    Thomas Renoldner (Austria)
    Qualified at Ottawa
    
16. Downtown
    Kendra Vander Vliet (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
17. Drop
    Trent Correy (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

18. Egg
    Martina Scarpelli (France/Denmark)
    Qualified at AFI Fest, Athens, Leipzig
    
19. Elephant in the Room
    Brian Scott (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

20. Exchange Student
    Natalie Nourigat (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

    

21. Falafel Cart
    Abdullah Al-Wazzan (Kuwait)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
22. Fetch
    Mitch Counsell (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
23. Five Minutes to Sea
    Natalia Mirzoyan (Russia)
    Qualified at Animayo, Encounters, Lebu
    
24. Flowing Through Wonder
    Joanna Lurie (France)
    Qualified at Flickerfest
    
25. (Fool Time) Job
    Gilles Cuvelier (France)
    Qualified at Uppsala
    
26. Follow the White Rabbid
    Meat Dept (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
27. Game Changer
    Aviv Mano (U.S.)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
    
28. Girl in the Hallway
    Valerie Barnhart (Canada)
    Qualified at Edmonton
    
29. Gon, The Little Fox
    Takeshi Yashiro (Japan)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
30. Grand Bassin
    Héloïse Courtois, Chloé Plat, Victori Jalabert, Adèle Raigneau (France)
    Qualified at Warsaw
    
31. Grendel
    Kalee McCollaum (U.S.)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
    

    

32. Guaxuma
    Nara Normande (Brazil/France)
    Qualified at Cinequest, Guadalajara, SXSW
    
33. Gun Shop
    Patrick Smith (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
34. Hair-Jitsu
    Brian Estrada (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
35. Hair Love
    Matthew A. Cherry, Everett Downing Jr., Bruce W. Smith (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
36. Hands
    John Canemaker (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

37. He Can’t Live Without Cosmos
    Konstantin Bronzit (Russia)
    Qualified at Tirana, In the Palace
    
38. Henrietta Bulkowski
    Rachel Johnson (U.S.)
    Qualified at Atlanta, Santa Barbara
    
39. Hors Piste
    Léo Brunel, Loris Cavalier, Camille Jalabert, Oscar Malet (France)
    Qualified at New York Int’ Children’s Film Festival
    
40. How I Left Your Father
    Explosm/Connor Murphy (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
41. Ian, A Moving Story
    Abel Goldfarb (Argentina)
    Qualified at Cleveland
    
42. I’m Going Out for Cigarettes (Je sors acheter des cigarettes)
    Osman Cerfon (France)
    Qualified at Animator Int’ Festival
    
43. Jing Hua
    Jerry Huynh (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

    

44. Just a Thought
    Brian Menz (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county

    

45. Kitbull
    Rosana Sullivan (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
46. Las Del Diente
    Ana Pérez López (Spain)
    Qualified at Florida
    
47. Le Mans 1955
    Quentin Baillieux (France)
    Qualified at St. Louis
    
48. Lightning in a Bottle
    John Aquino (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

49. Lucky Toupee
    Nikki Mull (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
50. Maestro
    Illogic (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
51. Marooned
    Andrew Erekson (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
52. Memorable
    Bruno Collet (France)
    Qualified at Annecy
    
53. Mind My Mind
    Floor Adams (Netherlands/Belgium)
    Qualified at Rhode Island
    
54. Mr. Mare
    Luca Tóth (Hungary/France)
    Qualified at Odense
    
55. My Generation
    Ludovic Houplain (France)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
56. My Little Goat
    Tomoki Misato (Japan)
    Qualified at Short Shorts
    
57. My Moon
    Eusong Lee (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
58. My Mother’s Eyes
    Jenny Wright (U.K.)
    Qualified at Tribeca
    
59. Ostrich Politic
    Mohamad Houhou (France)
    Qualified at LA Shorts Fest
    
60. Plankton
    Gustaf Lindström (U.K.)
    Qualified at Interfilm
    
61. Portrait of Suzanne
    Izabela Plucińska (Poland/Germany/France)
    Qualified at Krakow
    
62. Primos
    Federico Gutiérrez Obeso (Mexico)
    Qualified at Chilemonos
    
63. Puddles
    Zach Parrish (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

64. Purl
    Kristen Lester (U.S.)
    Qualified at Siggraph
    
65. Raymonde or the Vertical Escape
    Sarah van der Boom (France)
    Qualified at Leeds
    
66. Reneepoptosis
    Renee Zhan (U.S./Japan)
    Qualified at Sundance
    
67. Reruns
    Rosto (France/Netherlands/Belgium)
    Qualified at Anima
    
68. Riviera
    Jonas Schloesing (France)
    Qualified at Guanajuato, Regard — Saguenay Int’ Film Festival
    
69. Roughhouse
    Jonathan Hodgson (U.K./France)
    Qualified through BAFTA Awards
    
70. Selfies
    Claudius Gentinetta (Switzerland)
    Qualified at San Francisco
    
71. Shalva (=Tranquility)
    Danna Windsor (U.S.)
    Qualified at Slamdance
    
72. Sister
    Siqi Song (U.S./China)
    Qualified at Aspen Shortsfest, Austin, Foyle, Hollyshorts
    
73. Sitara: Let Girls Dream
    Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (Pakistan)
    Qualified through public exhibition in New York City
    
74. Smash and Grab
    Brian Larsen (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
75. Sohrab and Rustum
    Lee Whitmore (Australia)
    Qualified at Sydney
    
76. Songs to Sing in the Dark
    Riannon Delanoy (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
77. Substance
    Jamaal Bradley (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
78. Streets of Fury
    Aidan McAteer (Ireland)
    Qualified at Galway
    
79. Tasks of the Day
    Petya Zlateva (Bulgaria)
    Qualified at In the Palace
    
80. The Bird and the Whale
    Carol Freeman (Ireland)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
81. The Flood Is Coming
    Gabriel Böhmer (Switzerland/U.K.)
    Qualified at Winterthur
    
82. The Kite
    Martin Smatana (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland)
    
83. The Opposites Game
    Lisa LaBracio, Anna Samo (U.S.)
    Qualified at Raindance
    
84. The Physics of Sorrow
    Theodore Ushev (Canada)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
85. The Procession (Le cortège)
    Pascal Blanchet, Rodolphe Saint-Gelais (Canada)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

86. The Race
    Terry Moews (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
87. The Wheel Turns
    Sang Joon Kim (U.S./Japan/South Korea)
    Qualified at Sitges
    
88. Two
    Emre Okten (U.S.)
    Qualified at Student Academy Awards
    
89. Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days
    Regina Pessoa (Canada/France/Portugal)
    Qualified at Anima Mundi, Annecy
    
90. Walking Meat
    Shinya Sugai (Japan)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    
91. Under the Rib Cage
    Bruno Tondeur (France/Belgium)
    Qualified at Krakow
    
92. Zenith
    Jennifer Stratton (U.S.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

    

93. Zog
    Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon (U.K.)
    Qualified through public exhibition in L.A. county
    

Amid Amidi contributed to this story.