Short films may lack the scale and sweep of their feature-length siblings, but the best of them offer a promise of perfection in miniature and a reminder that cinema is often an art of patience, precision and detail. Here's your exclusive chance to see the nominated shorts before the Oscars. Traditionally among the year's most creative and surprising work, these gems are also the most difficult to find.

Butterfly
D: Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens, France, 2025, 15m
In the sea, a man swims. As he does, memories come to the surface. From his early childhood to his life as a man, all his memories are linked to water.

Forevergreen 
D: Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears, US, 2025, 13m
An orphaned bear cub finds a home with a fatherly evergreen tree, until his hunger for trash leads him to danger.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls 
D: Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, France, 2025, 17m
A haunting fable about a girl overwhelmed by sorrow, the boy who loves her, and how greed leads good hearts to wicked deeds.

Retirement Plan
D: John Kelly and Andrew Freedman, Ireland, 2025, 7m
In the throes of his overstimulated, energy poor midlife, Ray fantasises about everything he'd love to do in retirement, once he finally has the "time."

The Three Sisters
D: Konstantin Bronzit, Israel, 2025, 14m
Three sisters living on an isolated island must rent out one of their houses.