OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Lauren Melinda on Transforming Personal Grief Into BEFORE YOU

Before You has emerged as one of the most emotionally arresting contenders of the season — an intimate, devastating portrait of a couple navigating the end of a planned pregnancy. The film arrives without spectacle or political framing, instead carrying the soft, unspoken weight of lived experience. It is a work built from silence, color, memory, and the kind of grief that resists public language. In … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Lauren Melinda on Transforming Personal Grief Into BEFORE YOU

OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Pier-Philippe Chevigny on Violence, Redemption, and the Ethics of Labour in MERCENAIRE

Pier-Philippe Chevigny on slaughterhouses, ex-convicts, capitalism, and the humanity trapped in between Mercenaire has been quietly but steadily shaking the festival circuit, a film that leaves audiences hushed, unsettled, and morally implicated. With its suffocating realism, its claustrophobic 1:1 framing, and a hauntingly restrained performance by Marc-André Grondin, the film has positioned itself not only as a standout during Awards season, but also as one … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Pier-Philippe Chevigny on Violence, Redemption, and the Ethics of Labour in MERCENAIRE

Awards Spotlight: The Animated Shorts Igniting This Year’s Awards Season

By Colin Harding This awards season is shaping up to be an especially rich moment for animated short filmmaking. Five standout contenders have emerged as festival darlings and awards favorites, each staking a claim with distinctive vision, emotional punch, and technical bravado. Together they map a thrilling range of animated storytelling, from surreal body comedy to hand drawn Arctic elegy, and from contemporary burnout to … Continue reading Awards Spotlight: The Animated Shorts Igniting This Year’s Awards Season

Awards Spotlight: The Four Oscar-Qualified Shorts Redefining Awards Season Storytelling

by Laura Smith As the race for Best Live Action Short Film intensifies, a powerful cohort of Oscar-qualified contenders is making waves with bold visions, urgent themes, and new cinematic voices commanding attention. From psychological thrillers to socially resonant dramas, these films demonstrate that short-form storytelling can strike just as deep as any feature, sometimes deeper. Here are Four standouts shaping the awards conversation this season: There … Continue reading Awards Spotlight: The Four Oscar-Qualified Shorts Redefining Awards Season Storytelling

FILM BUSINESS Very Early Oscar Predictions: Live Action Short Film Shortlist for 2026 Academy Awards

The Academy’s Live Action Short category remains one of the industry’s strongest talent incubators, where emerging directors, ambitious craftspeople, and nimble producers collide with Hollywood’s spotlight. Voters tend to respond to crisp storytelling, emotional clarity, high production value on modest budgets, and shorts that feel complete. Cameos help, but resonance helps more. With that in mind, here’s how this year’s field is shaping up, based … Continue reading FILM BUSINESS Very Early Oscar Predictions: Live Action Short Film Shortlist for 2026 Academy Awards