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Short films — whether it be live-action, animated, or documentary — are becoming increasingly popular as more notable filmmakers begin to tell stories via this medium. Wes Anderson has four short films on Netflix, each adapted from a Roald Dahl book with “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” the most popular of the bunch. Pedro Almodóvar made “Strange Way of Life” with Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke. And Disney has the animated centenary celebration “Once Upon a Studio.”

These high-profile projects face fierce competition from some of the most up-and-coming filmmakers. Here are 10 other short films you should try and watch if you can. We think they’ll deservedly be serious Oscar contenders.

“In Too Deep” — Chris Overton

Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 2018 for “The Silent Child” and they return here with another searing short that packs a wallop. “In Too Deep...

HollyShorts and Goldfinch hosted several Oscar contenders in the short film categories witha special screening in London last week. Directors were on-hand to introduce their films and talk about their work. The night featured shorts from both blazing newcomers and Oscar-winning filmmakers flexing their muscles once more.

Beth Park‘s “Wild Animal” screened for the first time after only being completed the day before. The short depicted a woman suffering disorientation, paranoia, confusion, and loss of identity in this smart exploration of new motherhood. Park called the film “a journey of a lifetime” and said that the film would never have been made without the sense of team spirit found in her first short.

Misan Harriman‘s short film — Netflix’s “The After” — was up next. Harriman is best known for his work as a photographer and has photographed many high-profile celebrities including Steve McQueen and Liam Neeson. He turned...

Joshua Griffin and Ruaridh Mollica in Too Rough

A short film which really punches above its weight, Sean Lionadh’s Too Rough has been on our radar here at Eye For Film since the Glasgow Short Film Festival in March, where it won the Audience Award. It has since won a Scottish BAFTA and is now qualified to enter the Oscar race – a big deal for a small scale project about life in a Glasgow council flat. When we met, however, Sean was upfront about his feelings on its success. “Filmmaking is always so hard that you feel you’re owed awards. So I have a sense of entitlement after the suffering of actually making it. It hasn’t really clicked that it actually all paid off. But yes, it’s a lovely feeling.”

It tells the story of Nick (Ruaridh Mollica), who, after a drunken party, impulsively takes his...

It is always a pleasure when a film we mentioned in one of our Best of Fest round ups is submitted to Directors Notes. When I first saw Sean Lìonadh’s Too Rough at this year’s Glasgow Shorts Film Festival, I was taken aback by both its evocation of a tough, lived-in atmosphere of dread as well as its capacity for empathy, creating a nuanced portrait of coming-out in a difficult world. Telling the story of the young Nick hiding his boyfriend from his alcoholic parents, it is a deeply sensitive tale that is at once claustrophobic and touching, showing a fine command of tone from the poet/director. As the film screens as part of the HollyShorts film festival — currently running until the 20th August — we took the opportunity to talk to Lìonadh about basing his film on a true story, finding contrast through performance and being inspired...