Oscar Season Gets Exciting Again If You Only Focus on the Short Films

With the longest Oscar season ever entering its final week, there are three categories that help make the race feel new again.

By Eric Kohn, Anne Thompson

April 16, 2021 4:00 pm

With just over a week to go before the longest Oscar season in history comes to a close, it may seem like every story about the state of the race has been played out. Yes, “Nomadland” is still the frontrunner, Best Actress comes down to Carey Mulligan vs. Viola Davis, and who knows if anyone will actually tune into the show itself. But the nominations go well beyond the major categories, and Oscar season is actually exciting again if you only focus on the short films.

That’s what Screen Talk hosts Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson do in this week’s episode of the podcast, as they dig through the live action, animation, and documentary nominees to share their favorites and guess at which ones have the edge. (Bear with us as we stumbled on a few titles that were unfamiliar to us; check out the full list of nominees and more coverage here.)

Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.

Indiewire: Screen Talk · “Short Films Make Oscar Season Interesting Again” (Episode 329)

Screen Talk is produced by Leonardo Adrian Garcia and available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Soundcloud. You can subscribe here or via RSS. Share your feedback with Thompson and Kohn on Twitter or sound off in the comments. Browse previous installments here, review the show on Apple Podcasts, and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk. Check out the rest of IndieWire’s podcasts on Apple Podcasts right here.