Franz Böhm’s searing war drama Rock, Paper, Scissors has rapidly solidified its position as one of the most formidable contenders in this year’s Live Action Short Film race, following a major awards-season one–two punch: a win for Best British Short Film at the 2025 BAFTA Awards and a coveted place on the Academy Awards® shortlist.

The BAFTA victory not only marks a career milestone for Böhm and producer Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer, but also places the short firmly in the conversation as an Oscar frontrunner — a status historically shared by several eventual Academy Award winners in the category.Based on a true story from the ongoing Ukraine–Russia conflict, Rock, Paper, Scissors delivers an intense, claustrophobic portrait of civilian survival under fire. Set almost entirely inside a bunker on the front line, the film follows Ivan, a 17-year-old Ukrainian boy, and his father as they run a makeshift hospital amid relentless bombardment. When a platoon of soldiers closes in, the pair are forced to make an impossible decision that pits moral duty against sheer survival.The film’s power lies in its restraint. Böhm avoids spectacle in favor of raw human stakes, allowing the cruelty and randomness of war to emerge through intimate performances and mounting tension. It’s an approach that has clearly resonated with voters on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We are deeply humbled by the recognition of the Academy and its members,” Böhm said following the shortlist announcement. “Rock, Paper, Scissors wouldn’t have been possible without the extraordinary collaboration of the Ukrainian community,  in front of the camera, behind the camera, and beyond.”

The short premiered at the Academy Award®–qualifying Show Me Shorts Film Festival in 2024, earning a Best International Film nomination, and has since played a robust festival run across BAFTA- and BIFA-qualifying events worldwide. That early momentum, combined with the BAFTA win, positions the film as a classic late-stage awards breakout.Produced by BAFTA-nominated producer Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer under his WHO’S HERE PRODUCTIONS banner, the film reflects a commitment to socially urgent storytelling rooted in lived experience.

A National Film & Television School graduate and BAFTA Kirsh Scholarship recipient, Hoozeer has steadily built an international reputation, and Rock, Paper, Scissors represents his most high-profile success to date.“Cinema and storytelling connect us, allowing us to feel and experience lives beyond our own,” Hoozeer said. “By bringing audiences into the civilian perspective of life on the ground during war, we hope to rebuild the empathy we owe one another.”

Böhm, who began filmmaking at just 16, previously earned acclaim for his documentary Dear Future Children, which won the Audience Award at Max-Ophüls-Preis and went on to secure distribution in more than 40 countries, including a Netflix DACH release. 

Rock, Paper, Scissors marks a significant leap forward, showcasing a filmmaker increasingly comfortable working at the intersection of political urgency and emotional intimacy.With its BAFTA win, Academy shortlist placement, and unflinching relevance amid a still-unfolding global conflict, Rock, Paper, Scissors has become one of the most talked-about short films of the season.

As final Oscar nominations loom, the film’s combination of awards pedigree, emotional impact and timely subject matter makes it a serious contender, and a reminder of the outsized power short-form storytelling can wield on cinema’s biggest stage.