OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES: The Emotional Triumph of HOLY CURSE
With its haunting tenderness and piercing humanity, Holy Curse has emerged as one of the most anticipated shorts in the 2026 Oscar® race, and for good reason. Directed by rising talent Snigdha Kapoor, this powerful work of art transcends the limits of short-form storytelling to deliver something intimate yet monumental. It’s a film that doesn’t simply tell a story; it restores dignity to the act of storytelling itself. Set against … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING SERIES: The Emotional Triumph of HOLY CURSE
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
Oscar®-Qualified Beyond Silence Unveiled: Breaking the Cycle With Quiet Fury
In a post-#MeToo cinematic landscape hungry for stories that confront long-buried truths, few films cut as deeply, or as elegantly, as Beyond Silence. Now officially Oscar®-qualified and steadily gaining traction on the international festival circuit, this fierce yet delicately rendered short from director Marnie Blok proves that the most seismic stories don’t always arrive with a shout. Sometimes, they whisper, and the echo is devastating. Blok, already celebrated … Continue reading Oscar®-Qualified Beyond Silence Unveiled: Breaking the Cycle With Quiet Fury
OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker “Daood grew up in the eastern Syrian desert and lived through the ISIS regime”
With their short film WALUD ولود, co-directors Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker have crafted one of the most arresting and quietly unsettling works to emerge from the international festival circuit this year. Recently qualified for the 2026 Academy Awards, the film continues to gather momentum as it screens at Oscar®-qualifying festivals including Santa Fe, Aesthetica, Norwich, FeFF and EnergaCAMERIMAGE. Set in the rural Syrian desert during the height of ISIS control, … Continue reading OSCAR CONTENDING DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT – Daood Alabdulaa and Louise Zenker “Daood grew up in the eastern Syrian desert and lived through the ISIS regime”
INTERVIEW: Inside the Valley Sings
The new animated short documentary tore through the festival landscape and now they have their sights set on the Oscars as a contender. We sat down with director Nathan Fagan to talk about his process. 1. This film uses animation to convey lived experience; what were the earliest conversations like about combining documentary testimony with hand-drawn visuals? Very early on, I felt like animation was the … Continue reading INTERVIEW: Inside the Valley Sings
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