Here's your exclusive chance to see the films nominated for Best Animated Short before the Oscars. Traditionally among the year's most creative and surprising work, these gems are also the most difficult to find. This year's batch of nominees includes four family-friendly titles, including the long-awaited adaptation of the bestselling book "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse." The final short in the program involves mature content. A title card will appear on the screen before this film, allowing those with young children to exit the theater if they wish.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud, UK, 33 min) This heartwarming adaptation of Charlie Mackesy's best-selling book follows a boy and a few unlikely friends on an inspiring journey.

The Flying Sailor (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, Canada, 8 min) When two ships collide in a harbor, a passing sailor is sent skyward and forced to contemplate the wonder and fragility of existence

Ice Merchants (João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano, Portugal/France/UK, 15 min) Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground to sell the ice.

An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It (Lachlan Pendragon, Australia, 12 min) When a young telemarketer is confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, he learns that the universe is stop motion animation.

**My Year of D**ks (Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon, USA, 26 min) An imaginative 15-year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early 90s.

Total program running time 1h37m

**Mature content not suitable for children.