The forward-looking entry is John Kelly’s “Retirement Plan,” which makes a virtue of brisk simplicity. Its seven minutes unfold as a single, piano-scored montage, in which the protagonist, in voice-over supplied by Domhnall Gleeson, imagines all the things he’ll do when he retires. Conventional resolutions (“I will finish all those books I started”) give way to more absurd endeavors and personal admissions. Gradually, the unfussy imagery shows the man growing older as he runs through his to-do list, and it becomes clear that his retirement plan amounts to a confession of a life not fully lived. If Oscar voters are looking for the fastest pluck at their heartstrings, Kelly’s poignant and unpretentious entry could be their candidate.
But Florence Miailhe’s “Butterfly” is affecting in a different way. An impressionistic biopic of the French swimmer Alfred Nakache (1915-83), the film is told in flashback as Nakache, in the present action, takes a late-in-life butterfly stroke. An Algerian-born Jew, he competed for France in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and then again in 1948 in London, after surviving Auschwitz. His wife and daughter were killed.
The closing text reveals that Miailhe was taught to swim by Nakache’s brother, but even more striking than the personal connection is the film’s look: Easily the most visually accomplished selection in the group, “Butterfly” has a painterly texture and impasto that makes you want to grab at the screen. The boldly visible brushstrokes evoke French painters of the era, including hints of Monet and Matisse.
Less needs be said about the other entries. Mildly amusing but faintly sexist, “The Three Sisters” is a dialogue-free diversion from Konstantin Bronzit (nominated twice before) in which three women alone on an island compete for the affections of an uncouth sailor. Conjuring an impoverished corner of Montreal around the early 20th century, “The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” from Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (also previous nominees), makes eye-catching use of eerie, molded figures — a pawnbroker’s face looks partly rotted — but runs into storytelling trouble at the end.
The entry that plays it safest, by far, is Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears’s “Forevergreen,” the story of a bear cub and the coniferous giving tree that raises him, until the bear is led astray by a bag of potato chips. It’s movie of lessons: Plant a tree, prevent forest fires, don’t litter.
Then there is Giovanna Ferrari’s “Éiru,” which made the list of 15 shortlisted titles but didn’t secure a nomination. It’s screening to bring the program up to feature length, which seems a little unfair to the remaining shortlistees. Éiru is a young girl and aspiring warrior who restores water to her parched clan and makes peace with its neighbors.
— BEN KENIGSBERG
The 2026 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 53 minutes. In theaters.
The 2026 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary
Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 33 minutes. In theaters.
The 2026 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animated
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 19 minutes. In theaters.
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